Cannes: Directors' Fortnight Unveils Lineup

Among others, the independent sidebar will screen Jeremy Saulnier's 'Green Room,' U.S. entries that debuted at Sundance, Takashi Miike's 'Yakuza Apocalypse' and 'A Perfect Day,' starring Benicio Del Toro.

After teasing first titles for the past week, the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, run by the French Directors Guild, on Tuesday unveiled its complete lineup.

Among the films set for the 47th edition of the independent sidebar that takes place during the Cannes Film Festival is American Jeremy Saulnier’s Green Room, the follow-up to his Kickstarter-funded thriller Blue Ruin, which ran in the sidebar in 2013 and went on to win the FIPRESCI Prize.

As previously announced, legendary French director Philippe Garrel’s latest film, The Virgin’s Bed, will open the sidebar. The sidebar also previously announced Miguel Gomes’ Arabian Nights and Arnaud Desplechin’s My Golden Years as part of this year's program.

Artistic director Edouard Waintrop started unveiling the full lineup in Paris on Tuesday just after 11 a.m. local time, saying his team had received 1,623 feature submissions.

Dope by Rick Famuyiwa from the U.S. was announced as the closing film. Another U.S. entry unveiled Tuesday was Songs My Brothers Taught Me by Chloe Zhao. Both films premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

Waintrop also announced a special screening of Japanese director Takashi Miike's Yakuza Apocalypse: The Great War of the Underworld.

Also part of the lineup are Fernando Leon de Aranoa's A Perfect Day, starring Benicio Del Toro, and The Brand New Testament by Jaco Van Dormael (Mr. Nobody).

The Directors' Fortnight has a long history of discovering new talent. Michael Haneke, Ken Loach, Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee and Sofia Coppola’s first films were all part of the prestigious sidebar. The section is run separately from Cannes' main festival and organized by the French filmmakers' guild.

The Fortnight awards the Carrosse d’Or (Golden Coach) prize to a director chosen from the international filmmaking community for their courage and independence shown through their work. This year, it will be awarded to Chinese director Jia Zhangke, who will give a master class and screen his 2001 underground film Platform.

The Fortnight does not have its own jury but rather awards prizes from various associations and sponsors, such as international critics' FIPRESCI prize, the Art Cinema Award, SACD Prize and Europa Cinemas Label and the Illy Prize. In addition, first-time filmmakers in all competition categories in Cannes compete for the Camera d’Or award.

Here is the complete Directors' Fortnight lineup of feature films:

Opening film

In the Shadow of Women, Philippe Garrel

Closing film

Dope, Rick Famuyiwa

Allende, Marcia Tambutti

A Perfect Day, Fernando Leon de Aranoa

Green Room, Jeremy Saulnier

The Cowboys (Les Cowboys), Thomas Bidegain

Fatima, Philippe Faucon

Embrace of the Serpent (El abrazo de la serpiente), Ciro Guerra

Songs My Brothers Taught Me, Chloe Zhao

Much Loved, Nabil Ayouch

Mustang, Deniz Gamze Erguven

Peace to Us in Our Dreams, Sharunas Bartas

The Here After (Efterskalv) , Magnus von Horn

The Brand New Testament (Le tout nouveau testament), Jaco Van Dormael

Arabian Nights, Miguel Gomes

My Golden Years, Arnaud Desplechin

Special screening

Yakuza Apocalypse: The Great War of the Underworld (Gokudo daisenso), Takashi Miike