PARIS, April 23 — Cannes film festival added a new film starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson as well as Kristen Stewart’s debut feature as a director to its roster of movies that will premiere next month on the French Riviera.
American filmmaker Lynne Ramsay (“We Need To Talk About Kevin”) has been selected for the main competition with her thriller “Die My Love” starring Lawrence and Pattinson.
Out of the 21 films in the main competition this year, seven have been made by women directors, the joint highest total.
Iran’s Saeed Roustaee is also set to compete for the main prize with his latest feature, “Mother and Child”, three years after showing “Leila’s Brothers” in Cannes which led to him being sentenced to six months in prison in Iran.
The festival has also secured the world premiere for the first film directed by former Twilight star Kristen Stewart—“The Chronology of Water”—which will screen in the secondary “Un Certain Regard” competition.
The film follows a young girl “who grows up in an environment ravaged by violence and alcohol” who finds “refuge in literature,” according to its producers.
Stewart will be up against fellow American actress-turned-director Scarlett Johansson whose first production “Eleanor the Great” has also been selected for the “Un Certain Regard” which showcases emerging talents.
French screen favorite Juliette Binoche, who has won acting honours at Cannes, Berlin and the Oscars, will chair the jury judging the in-competition features which are vying for the coveted Palme d’Or.
The 2025 line-up of 21 films includes some heavy-hitting festival circuit favourites including Wes Anderson, Iranian director Jafar Panahi, the Dardenne brothers from Belgium, and veteran American independent filmmaker Richard Linklater. — AFP
