Who will be clambering over the ropes to enter the competition of the 72nd Cannes Film Festival (14-25 May 2019), besides The Dead Don’t Die [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by US director Jim Jarmusch, whose presence as the opening movie was officially announced yesterday? Will this year see a crunch match between several filmmakers who already have at least one Palme d’Or in their possession, a clutch of hopefuls who have already set their sights on the most prestigious trophy in the global film industry, and a batch of ambitious newcomers to this dizzying level? Exactly one week away from the unveiling of the Official Selection by Thierry Frémaux on Thursday 18 April, the rumours are starting to fly all over the shop. They are occasionally contradictory, but certain trends have begun emerging. Nevertheless, there are some predictions that we should take stock of with a pinch of salt, as so far, only half of the titles in competition will receive an official invite, and many movies may still be awaiting the choices of the Official Selection in order to potentially position themselves as entries in the parallel sections on the Croisette, or even in favour of other major festivals set to unspool later in the year.

Four flicks helmed by filmmakers who have previously been awarded at Cannes may well make it into the competition. Young Ahmed [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Jean-Pierre e Luc Dardenne
scheda film] by Belgium’s Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Sorry We Missed You [+leggi anche:
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Q&A: Ken Loach
scheda film] by the UK’s Ken Loach might enable their respective directors to become the first ever to take home three Palme d’Or gongs in the history of the festival. That is, unless US filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, with Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, and his fellow countryman Terrence Malick, with A Hidden Life [+leggi anche:
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A few Cannes sure-fire hits are also being talked about in the best-informed betting circles, with Pain & Glory [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Antonio Banderas
Q&A: Pedro Almodóvar
scheda film] by Spaniard Pedro Almodovar, Matthias & Maxime by Canada’s Xavier Dolan, Saturday Fiction by China’s Lou Ye (provided the censorship authorities in his country give him the green light) and Parasite by South Korea’s Bong Joon-ho. These may well be joined by Oh Mercy! [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Arnaud Desplechin
scheda film] by France’s Arnaud Desplechin, The Traitor [+leggi anche:
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Q&A: Marco Bellocchio
scheda film] by Italy’s Marco Bellocchio, It Must Be Heaven [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Elia Suleiman
scheda film] by Palestine’s Elia Suleiman and a film still without a confirmed title by Filipino helmer Brillante Mendoza, for good measure.

Among the possible fresh faces to be featured in the Cannes competition are France’s Céline Sciamma with Portrait of a Lady on Fire [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Céline Sciamma
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intervista: Justine Triet
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intervista: Jessica Hausner
scheda film], young Russian prodigy Kantemir Balagov with The Beanpole [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], and even Romania’s Corneliu Porumboiu with The Whistlers [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Corneliu Porumboiu
scheda film] and the USA’s Ira Sachs with Frankie [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Ira Sachs
scheda film]. A huge buzz is also currently being generated around Atlantique [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Mati Diop
scheda film], the feature debut by Mati Diop.

Among the outsiders, we could cite such titles as Echo [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Rúnar Rúnarsson
scheda film] by Iceland’s Runar Runarsson, Martin Eden [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Pietro Marcello
scheda film] by Italy’s Pietro Marcello, not to mention Bacurau [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Kleber Mendonça Filho, Jul…
scheda film] by Brazilian duo Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles, plus While at War [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Alejandro Amenábar
scheda film] by Spaniard Alejandro Amenábar. Another movie tipped for inclusion, Ema by Chile’s Pablo Larrain, may eventually end up not being able to take part owing to a very recent purchase by Netflix (although this information is not 100% verifiable – and is incidentally being denied by certain sources – given the level of confidentiality the platform demands of its partners), and the French film The Truth [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Hirokazu Kore-eda
scheda film] by Japan’s Hirokazu Kore-eda will allegedly not be ready. However, the biggest mystery surrounds how far Manor House [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Cristi Puiu
scheda film] by Romania’s Cristi Puiu has progressed through the post-production stage.

Other hopefuls for a spot in the Official Selection apparently still include The Weeping Woman [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Jayro Bustamante
scheda film] by Guatemala’s Jayro Bustamante, A Bigger World [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Fabienne Berthaud
scheda film] by France’s Fabienne Berthaud, An Easy Girl [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Rebecca Zlotowski
scheda film] by her fellow countrywoman Rebecca Zlotowski, Our Lady of the Nile [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Afghanistan’s Atiq Rahimi, Eden [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Hungary’s Agnes Kocsis, Technoboss [+leggi anche:
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intervista: João Nicolau
scheda film] by Portugal’s João Nicolau and Reborn [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Israel’s Yaron Shani. Neither should we underestimate the chances of the documentary The Cordillera of Dreams [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Chile’s Patricio Guzman, Gloria Mundi [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Robert Guédiguian
scheda film] by France’s Robert Guédiguian and the feature debut Les Misérables [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Ladj Ly
scheda film] by his fellow countryman Ladj Ly.

Also still up in the air with a possible final destination of Un Certain Regard are Port Authority [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by the USA’s Danielle Lessovitz, The Mayor of Rione Sanità [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Mario Martone
scheda film] by Italy’s Mario Martone, Seberg [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Australia’s Benedict Andrews, A Son [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Mehdi M. Barsaoui e Sami B…
scheda film] by Tunisia’s Mehdi M Barsaoui and Papicha [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Mounia Meddour
scheda film] by Algeria’s Mounia Meddour, while the batch of out-of-competition titles is being fed by the rumours hovering around Rocketman [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Dexter Fletcher
scheda film] by the UK’s Dexter Fletcher, Fair and Balanced by the USA’s Jay Roach, The Personal History of David Copperfield [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Scotland’s Armando Iannucci, The Specials [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by French duo Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano, and The Best Years of a Life [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Claude Lelouch
scheda film] by their fellow countryman Claude Lelouch. Also worth pointing out in the mob of contenders still in the running for the Official Selection are The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Karim Aïnouz
scheda film] by Brazil’s Karim Aïnouz, La Femme de mon frère by Canada’s Monia Chokri, and the French efforts Happy Birthday [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Cédric Kahn, Cuties [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Maïmouna Doucouré
scheda film] by Maïmouna Doucouré and Camille [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Boris Lojkine
scheda film] by Boris Lojkine.

As for the Directors’ Fortnight, besides opening duties, which have already been entrusted to Deerskin [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Quentin Dupieux
scheda film] by Quentin Dupieux, bandied about time and time again are the names of titles such as Alice and the Mayor [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Nicolas Pariser
scheda film] by France’s Nicolas Pariser, Joan of Arc [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Bruno Dumont
scheda film] by his acclaimed fellow countryman Bruno Dumont and Song Without a Name [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Peru’s Melina León. However, the list of hopefuls still awaiting a definitive response could apparently be even longer and is so dependent on the competition on the Croisette and domino theory that it is difficult to safely say any more about it with any degree of certainty. A few surprises may not be entirely out of the question either, with new talents such as Under the Concrete [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Lebanon’s Roy Arida.

Meanwhile, the Critics’ Week may welcome films such as The Unknown Saint [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Morocco’s Alaa Eddine Aljem and I Lost My Body [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Jérémy Clapin
scheda film] by France’s Jérémy Clapin, which would therefore be representing animated cinema on the Croisette, a genre that is also pinning its hopes on The Bears’ Famous Invasion of Sicily [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Lorenzo Mattotti
scheda film] by Italy’s Lorenzo Mattotti.

Now all that’s left to do is "place your bets" before the verdict arrives on 18 April during the Paris-based press conference that will see Thierry Frémaux unveil the identities of the chosen few in the Official Selection and the list of contenders for the 2019 Palme d’Or, which will be handed out by a jury chaired by Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu (see the news).