CANNES, France, May 11 (Reuters) – The Cannes Film Festival, the annual celebration of independent cinema on the French Riviera, kicks off on Tuesday, with John Travolta, Adam Driver and Barbra Streisand among the superstars set to walk the red carpet.
Below are some facts about the event and this year’s contenders.
* How did it begin?
Cannes is the world’s biggest film festival, first conceived in 1939 as an alternative to Venice’s film extravaganza which was then under the sway of the ruling fascists.
It has been held every year since 1946, apart from 1948 and 1950 when it was cancelled due to lack of funds.
Since then, many of the films showcased there have gone on to Oscar glory. Appearances at the French Riviera resort town have also helped launch the careers of many directors, among them Quentin Tarantino.
Running alongside is the world’s biggest film market, drawing more than 15,000 film industry professionals annually.
* Which films are competing?
This year’s 22 contenders for the top Palme d’Or prize are:
“Amarga Navidad” (Bitter Christmas), directed by Pedro Almodovar
“Coward” Lukas Dhont
“Das Getraeumte Abenteuer” (The Dreamed Adventure), Valeska Grisebach
“El Ser Querido” (The Beloved), Rodrigo Sorogoyen
“Fatherland” Pawel Pawlikowski
“Fjord” Cristian Mungiu
“Garance” (Another Day), Jeanne Herry
“Gentle Monster” Marie Kreutzer
“Histoires De La Nuit” (The Birthday Party), Lea Mysius
“Histoires Parallèles” (Parallel Tales), Asghar Farhadi
“Hope” Na Hong-Jin
“L’Inconnue” (The Unknown), Arthur Harari
“La Bola Negra” (The Black Ball), Javier Calvo, Javier Ambrossi
“La Vie D’Une Femme” (A Woman’s Life), Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet
“Minotaur” Andrei Zviaguintsev
“Moulin” Laszlo Nemes
“Nagi Notes” Fukada Koji
“Notre Salut” (A Man Of His Time), Emmanuel Marre
“Paper Tiger” James Gray
“Sheep In The Box” Kore-eda Hirokazu
“Soudain” (All Of A Sudden), Hamaguchi Ryusuke
“The Man I Love” Ira Sachs
Other awards include the Grand Prix, jury prize, best director, best actor, best actress, best screenplay and best short film.
* Which other top names will be there?
Travolta – who reinvigorated his career at Cannes with Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” in 1994 after his star had faded in the years following “Grease” and “Saturday Night Fever” – will make his directorial debut this year.
“Propeller One-Way Night Coach” is based on his 1997 children’s book of the same name and pulls on the actor’s lifelong fascination with aviation and flying.
Streisand and “Lord of the Rings” director Peter Jackson will both be in town to receive honorary Palme d’Or awards for lifetime achievements.
Korean director Park Chan-wook, who himself previously competed at Cannes with “Oldboy” and most recently “Decision to Leave,” is president of the nine-person jury that will decide the winner.
Other jury members include U.S. actor Demi Moore, Chinese-born director Chloe Zhao of “Hamnet” and Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard.
With a dearth of Hollywood blockbusters debuting this year, Cannes will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the original “The Fast and the Furious” with cast members including Vin Diesel.
The opening film this year is a French-language romantic drama set in interwar period Paris, “The Electric Kiss,” by director Pierre Salvadori.
* What has won in the past?
Past Palme d’Or winners include Martin Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver”, Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now”, Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” and Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite”.
Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi won last year’s prize with “It Was Just an Accident,” a clandestinely shot revenge thriller that France, which co-produced it, put forward for best international feature film at the Academy Awards.
Only three female directors, Jane Campion, Julia Ducournau and Justine Triet, have won the top prize – for “The Piano,” “Titane” and “Anatomy of a Fall,” respectively – and only nine filmmakers have won it twice.
(Reporting by Miranda Murray; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
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