DeVito: Walter McBride/WireImage. Beckinsale: J. Merritt/Getty Images. Hedges: Steven Ferdman/WireImage. Schoenaerts: Andrew Toth/Getty Images. Colman: Karwai Tang/WireImage. Cright: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images. Woodley: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Marc Jacobs.

As Cannes kicks off another edition, the independent film business finds itself in a tight spot, squeezed between the majors' ever-expanding market share (led by the new post-merger Disney-Fox behemoth) and the ever-shrinking number of international buyers willing — or able — to put up real cash for movies. Germany lost two big buyers this year when former giants Tele Munchen Group and Universum Film were gobbled up by a private equity investor, and the once-booming Chinese market has tightened. With demand down, supply also has shrunk. Where once Cannes was a flood of new titles, this year there is a trickle.

"Unless a movie is theatrical today, the value of it is nominal," says Jeffrey Greenstein, president of Millennium Media, explaining why he is bringing just one new title to market: the Kate Beckinsale actioner Jolt, described as a "female version of Crank."

But for a handful of cinema-worthy features, less competition could mean better business. And for the independent distributors left standing, Cannes 2019 will be a buyers' market. "Last year we got Border out of the festival and Apollo 11 from the market, which both did great for us," says Jeff Deutchman, vp content at U.S. indie distributor Neon. "So I'm going into Cannes this year pretty excited."

Deutchman notes that, compared to past Cannes festivals, the 2019 lineup boasts a healthy crop of English-language titles in the sidebars, including Michael Covino's The Climb and Danielle Lessovitz's Port Authority in Un Certain Regard and Robert Eggers' The Lighthouse and Robert Rodriguez's Red 11 in Directors' Fortnight.

"The independent market has always thrived on material that challenges and provokes," adds Alex Walton of sales and production group Endeavor Content. "But we obviously need buyers to be successful or things aren't healthy. The indie business needs titles to keep cutting through and playing well on the international market."