Cannes announces 2008 lineup

Poster by David Lynch

Cannes, the premier worldwide film festival, has finally announced the lineup for its 2008 event. Before we begin with analyzing the choices, let's take a look at this year's selections:

In Competition
24 City, China, Jia Zhangke
Adoration, Canada, Atom Egoyan
Changeling, U.S., Clint Eastwood
Che (The Argentine, Guerrilla), Spain, Steven Soderbergh
Un Conte de noel, France, Arnaud Desplechin
Daydreams, Turkey, Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Delta, Germany-Hungary, Kornel Mundruczo
Il Divo, Paolo Sorrentino, Italy
Gomorra, Italy, Matteo Garrone
La Frontiere de l'aube, France, Philippe Garrel
Leonera, Argentina-South Korea, Pablo Trapero
Linha de Passe, Brazil, Walter Salles, Daniela Thomas
La Mujer sin cabeza, Argentina, Lucrecia Martel
My Magic, Singapore, Eric Khoo
The Palermo Shooting, Germany, Wim Wenders
Serbis, Philippines, Brillante Mendoza
The Silence of Lorna, U.K.-France, Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
Synecdoche, New York, U.S., Charlie Kaufman
Waltz With Bashir, Israel, Ari Folman

Out of competition
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, U.S., Steven Spielberg
Kung Fu Panda, U.S., Mark Osborne, John Stevenson
The Good, the Bad, the Weird, South Korea, Kim Jee-woon
Vicky Cristina Barcelona, U.S.-Spain, Woody Allen

Midnight Screenings
Maradona, Spain-France, Emir Kusturica
Surveillance, U.S., Jennifer Lynch
The Chaser, South Korea, Na Hong-jin

Special Screenings
Ashes of Time Redux, China, Wong Kar-wai
Of Time and the City, U.K., Terence Davies
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, U.S.-U.K., Marina Zenovich
Sangue Pazzo (Crazy Blood), Italy-France, Marco Tullio Giordana

Screening of the President of the Jury
The Third Wave, U.S., Alison Thompson

Un Certain Regard
A festa da menina morta, Brazil, Matheus Nachtergaele
Afterschool, U.S., Antonio Campos
De Ofrivilliga, Sweden, Ruben Ostlund
Je veux voir, France, Joana Hadjithomas, Khalil Joreige
Johnny Mad Dog, France, Jean-Stephane Sauvaire
La vie moderne (profiles paysans), France, Raymond Depardon
Los Bastardos, Mexico, Amat Escalante
Milh handha al-bahr, (Salt of This Sea), Palestine, Annemarie Jacir
O’ Horten, Norway-Germany, Bent Hamer
Soi Cowboy, U.K., Thomas Clay
Tin Che, (Parking), Taiwan, Chung Mong-Hong
Tokyo!, France-Japan, Bong Joon-ho, Michel Gondry, Leos Carax
Tokyo Sonata, Japan, Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Tulpan, Germany, Sergey Dvortsevoy
Tyson, U.S., James Toback
Versailles, France, Pierre Schoeller
Wendy and Lucy, U.S., Kelly Reichardt
Wolke 9 (Cloud Nine), Germany, Andreas Dresen
Yi ban haishui, yi ban huoyan, China, Fendou Liu

Cinefondation
Ba Yue Shi Wu, U.S., Jiang Xuan
Blind Spot, France, Johanna Bessiere, Cecile Dubois Herry, Simon Rouby, Nicolas Chauvelot, Olivier Clert, Yvon Jardel
Et dans mon coeur, j'emporterai..., Belgium, Yoon Sung-A
Forbach, France, Claire Burger
Gata, Russia, Diana Mkrtchyan
Gestern in Eden, Germany, Jan Speckenbach
Himnon (Anthem), Israel, Elad Keidan
Illusion Dwellers, U.K., Rob Ellender
Interior. Scara de bloc, Romania, Ciprian Alexandrescu
Kestomerkitsijat, Finland, Juho Kuosmanen
The Maid, U.S., Heidi Saman
Naus, Czech Republic, Lukas Glaser
O Som E O Resto, Brazil, Andre Lavaquial
El Reloj, Argentina, Marco Berger
Shtika (Silence), Israel, Hadar Morag
Stop, South Korea, Park Jae-ok
This Is a Story About Ted and Alice, U.S., Teressa Tunney

Shorts in Competition
411-Z, Hungary, Daniel Erdelyi
Buen Viaje (Bon Voyage), Javier Palleiro, Guillermo Rocamora
De Moins en Moins, France, Melanie Laurent
El Deseo (The Desire), Mexico, Marie Benito
Jerrycan, Australia, Julius Avery
Love You More, U.K., Sam Taylor Wood
Megatron, Romania, Marian Crisan
My Rabbit Hoppy, Australia, Anthony Lucas
Smafuglar, Iceland, Runar Runarsson

While last year featured a glut of strong American films, this year the main competition will only have films from three American directors (although Steven Soderbergh's production is considered Spanish by the festival, he's a decidedly American director). Clint Eastwood's feature, Changeling, stars Angelina Jolie as a mother whose prayer for her kidnapped son's return is answered, though possibly by someone else's child. The film also features Jeffrey Donovan and John Malkovich and will see a wide release stateside on November 7. Eastwood has a strong history with Cannes, having screened three of his films in previous competitions and one outside of competition, as well as being the jury's president back in 1994. However, he's never won the big prize yet.

Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche is quite a contrast. While Eastwood is an old hand behind the camera, this is the first time Kaufman has directed a film, and in fact he's the only first-time director in the main competition. Films he's written, though, include Being John Malkovich, Adaptation and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. His new film's cast includes Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener and Samantha Morton. Early reports from the Los Angeles Times about its screenplay were glowing, and though there's not much else known about it yet, expectations are extremely high.

The third "American" film is Steven Soderbergh's two-part epic, Che, which tells the story of the famous freedom fighter. There were worries that the film wouldn't make it into competition because the first part wouldn't be finished on time, but it looks like that problem's been solved. While Soderbergh hasn't competed in the main competition since 1993, his debut film sex, lies, and videotape won the Palme d'Or back in 1989.

Other recognizable directors in the main competition include Wim Wenders, whose Paris, Texas won the Palm d'Or in 1984, and the Dardenne brothers, who won the competition in both 1999 and 2005. Sean Penn will be residing over the competition's jury, which also includes Alfonso Cuaron and Natalie Portman. While the competition consists of fewer pictures by well-known directors than normal, this may make for an unexpected year with plenty of chances to discover lesser-known talent.

Outside of competition, three of the films are coming from the States. Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull will have its world premier, alongside Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona. (Cannes is Allen's standard forum for releasing his latest project.) More interesting, or perhaps confusing, is Kung Fu Panda. But hey, why not?

In special and midnight screenings, Maradona is a bit of a surprise, since as a two-time winner of the Palme d'Or, it would seem like a shoe-in for the main competition. Wong Kar-Wai's Ashes of Time Redux should also be interesting, as the original isn't a film that really requires a revision.

Un Certain Regard, usually a more experimental section of the festival populated by more first-time directors, features one film of particular interest, Tokyo!, a tryptych movie featuring one third created by Michel Gondry. However, several other American films are also in competition, so we may end up seeing some of these in theaters eventually.

The Cannes 2008 festival takes place from May 14-25.

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