Cannes Film Festival

Well folks, it’s that time of year again. Time to brush up on your French, pour a glass of bubbly, and bulk buy popcorn as it’s time for the 73rd annual Cannes Film Festival nominations. Despite the festival going digital, we at Independent Talent are delighted to share with you our clients that have been nominated and whet your appetite for some of the incredible films on offer at 2020’s festival. Bon appetite.

OFFICIAL SELECTION 2020

Mangrove

Starring Shaun Parkes, Alex Jennings

Directed by Steve McQueen, Mangrove is part of the Small Axe miniseries capturing the lives of London’s West Indian community throughout the Seventies and Eighties.  Based on the true story of The Mangrove Nine, the film follows a group of black activists arrested by the Metropolitan Police in 1970 in what would become known as the first officially recognised case of racially motivated arrests by the force.

Lovers Rock

Starring Amarah Jae St Aubyn

Another part of McQueen’s Small Axe anthology series, Lovers Rock is a fictional love story set in 1980s London against the backdrop of the Blues music scene.  Like the rest of the series, the film has been dedicated to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Druk (Another Round) 

Written and Directed by Thomas Vinterberg

This Danish comedy follows the lives of four teachers who have a theory: you’re more open-minded when you’re tipsy.  Druk follows these men as they attempt to maintain a mild level of intoxication throughout their workday whatever the consequences …

The French Dispatch

Starring Elisabeth Moss

1st Assistant Director Ben Howard

The French Dispatch focuses upon the comings and goings a Kansas newspaper’s French bureau and is inspired by director Wes Anderson’s love of The New Yorker.  With a host of famous faces spread across three interconnected stories, Anderson describes this as “a love letter to journalists”.

THE NEWCOMERS

Limbo

Starring Amir Al Masry & Grace Chilton

Limbo follows young Syrian musician Omar as he waits to be granted asylum on a remote Scottish Island.  Having carried his Grandfather’s oud with him on his journey, Omar now feels its weight more than ever.

Ammonite 

Starring James McArdle, Alec Secareanu, Fiona Shaw

Casting by Fiona Weir

Hair and Make Up Designer Ivana Primorac

Ammonite is the story of famed Nineteenth-Century fossil hunter Mary Anning.  Now facing financial difficulty Mary is forced to care for rich newlywed Charlotte, but what starts off as a burden begins to develop into an increasingly intimate relationship.

CRITICS WEEK

After Love

Produced by Matthieu de Braconier

Starring Joanna Scanlan

Mary Hussein converted to Islam when she married her husband, however, in the wake of his death she is forced to reevaluate her identity and confront one final secret he has waiting for her in Calais.

CRITICS WEEK SHORTS

Good Thanks, You?

Written and Directed by Molly Manning Walker

Written and Directed by London based Writer/Director Molly Manning Walker, this short drama follows the life of sixteen-year-old Amy as she’s subjected to repeated trauma by the British authorities.