Cannes 2011: 20 Predictions for Next Year’s Festival

If the Main Competition suffered because of the lack of film output from last year (Venice and TIFF have already seen the benefits), next year’s edition of the Cannes film festival is already shaping up to be a fantastic year with names like Pedro, Von Trier, Dardennes, Cronenberg, PTA and Salles in the possible line-up. For those who made a case about there not being much female representation — they’ll be pleased to see that the latest works from Andrea Arnold and Lynne Ramsay should be in the line-up — and although I didn’t add him to the list below, we could also see Steve McQueen’s latest project in the fest. Here are a list of 20 projects I think will be in the fest next year.

A Dangerous Method – David Cronenberg 
Many of you might still know it as A Talking Cure – the screenplay received lots of good word of mouth and is filming this summer in Europe. An adaptation of Christopher Hampton’s play, this follows the founding fathers of psychoanalysis, Carl Jung (Fassbender) and Sigmund Freud (Mortensen), and their complicated relationships with a brilliant and beautiful patient, Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley).

Un Amour de Jeunesse (A Youthful Love) – Mia Hansen
Already a veteran of the festival having her last films be presented The Father of My Children Set from 1999 and 2007, “Jeunesse” chronicles the love of Camille (Lola Creton) and Sullivan — which begins during adolescence and ends when they become adults. Themes explores are solitude and survival, on the apprenticeship of freedom and the innocence of love.

The Congress – Ari Folman
Blasted onto the scene with the Croisette preemed Waltz with Bashir, now he would return with Robin Wright Penn in animated form. Written by Folman, this is loosely based on “The Futurological Congress” a short story by sci-fi writer Stanislaw Lem. Set in a futuristic world in which everything appears to glisten, money is abundant and there is a general good feeling in the air, but all this has a dark underbelly. This is about the world of an actress (Wright), she’s in decline because the studios just sampled her.

Cool Water – Emir Kusturica
The European helmer has a long history with the festival – with filming set to being this summer he should be prepped in time for the fest. Based on Gabriel Bornstein’s script, this is a road movie with a twist. Two Palestinian brothers must drive from Jerusalem to Ramallah in what would normally be a 45-minute journey. The hitch, however, is that they are carting their father’s dead body in the trunk of their car.

Heli – Amat Escalante 
The festival loves this sampling of Mexican cinema — Escalante has shown Sangre and Los Bastardos here. Set in a small Mexican town, where most citizens work for an automobile assembly plant or the local drug cartel, Heli is confronted with police corruption, drug trafficking, sexual exploitation, love, guilt and revenge in the search for his father who has mysteriously disappeared.

L’Exercice de l’Etat (State Exercise) – Pierre Schoeller
Current in development, this should be the filmmakers return to the Croisette — he preemed Versailles here in 2008.

Journal de France – Raymond Depardon
Should return with this project after having preemed La vie moderne back in 2008.

La Piel Que Habito (The Skin I Live In) – Pedro Almodóvar
Another heavyweight selection, this is based on the French novel, formerly known as “Tarantula”, this tells the story of a man’s revenge driven attack on his daughter’s rapist. A plastic surgeon, he confronts him and performs a sex change operation on him.

Love & Bruises – Lou Ye 
Lou Ye and Cannes discovery Tahar Rahim will be at the festival with this project — it’s in the cards. Formerly titled Bitch, this is an adaptation from Jie Liu-Falin’s autobiographical novel, Mathieu says, if she were a prostitute, for sure Flower would make a lot of money. He says she’s a born bitch. Any profession other than a prostitute would indeed be a waste of her gifts.

The Master – Paul Thomas Anderson 
Winner for Best Director for Punch Drunk Love, if filming begins soon I don;t see how this won’t preem in Cannes next year. This sees Philip Seymour Hoffman as a founder, a “master of ceremonies” type of charismatic intellectual who hatches a faith-based organization that begins to catch on in America in 1952…

Melchanolia – Lars Von Trier 
With a crazy international cast on board, this psychological disaster film might be the biggest buzzed about title.

Midnight in Paris – Woody Allen

With Carla Bruni and Marion in the film, expect this to be among the top buzzed titles for the fest. This is about a family traveling to the French capital for business which features a young engaged couple forced to confront the illusion that a life different from their own is better.

The Monk – Dominik Moll
Moll, also a popular filmmaker often in the South of France, should be finished well in advance with this fantasy pic – an adaptation of classic from Mathew Gregory Lewis published in 1796, the story concerns Capucin Ambrosio (Vincent Cassel) – a pious, well-respected monk in Spain – and his violent downfall. He is undone by carnal lust for his pupil, a woman disguised as a monk, who tempts him to transgress, and, once satisfied by her, is overcome with desire for the innocent Antonia.

On the Road – Walter Salles

Loaded with names you want on the red carpet, Salles a Cannes habitual will bring Francis Ford Coppola with him in a crazy world preem. Written by Jose Rivera, this is based on Jack Kerouac classic 1957 novel, which played a role in giving rise to the Beat movement, is narrated by Kerouac’s thinly veiled alter ego Sal Paradise, who gets inspired to hit the road and see America. The story follows his ups and downs as he hitchhikes, hops trains, meets other travelers, struggles for meals and explores the themes of freedom and longing.

This Must Be the Place – Paolo Sorrentino
The Italian filmmaker should follow Il Divo with this project starring Sean Penn and Toni Servillo. Co-written by Sorrentino and Umberto Contarello, this is about a wealthy rock star (Penn) who becomes bored in his retirement and takes on the quest of finding his father’s executioner, an ex-Nazi war criminal who is a refugee in the U.S.

Untitled Dardenne Bros. Project 
Dardennes prep all their projects for Cannes, and begin lensing this project fairly soon. This is the story of an 11-year-old boy, abandoned by his father, who ends up with an unwitting young woman (Cecile de France) to care for him.

Untitled Ramin Bahrani Western Project  
Bahrani should be moving up several sections from the Director’s Fortnight preemed Chop Shop. He should begin filming this Fall for what would be a planned release for Cannes.

Waiting for Azarel – Vincent Paronnaud & Marjane Satrapi
Returning to the birth place of Persepolis, this toplines Cannes winning director Mathieu Amalric in the feature role. A live-action adaptation of the comic book Chicken with Plums. It will tell the story of a musician who wants to die because his wife has broken his tar (Iranian lute). But this sorrow hides another hidden pain: the failed love affair with the woman of his life, whom he has met again by chance.

We Need to Talk about Kevin – Lynne Ramsay
Winner for three films at the festival (Morvern Caller and her short films Gasman and Small Deaths) Ramsay will be long ready with her film as she is about to complete filming. Co-scripted by Ramsay and writer Rob Festinger, this is an adaptation of Lionel Shriver’s prize-winning book which follows Kevin and his mother, Eva (Tilda Swinton). After Kevin goes on a killing spree just days before his 16th birthday, Eva is forced to question whether she ever loved her son and how much she is to blame for what he did.

Wuthering Heights – Andrea Arnold

Already a fest favorite, Arnold should be long ready with this project – filming begins soon, they need to cast the male lead though. Written by Olivia Hetreed, this is based on Emily Bronte’s 1847 novel is about Heathcliff and Cathy (Kaya Scodelario), two ill-fated lovers in the Yorkshire moors.