Outstanding works competing for the Palme d'Or at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival

The 71st Cannes Film Festival (France) takes place from May 8-19. This year, 21 films compete for the Palme d'Or, 18 films participate in the Un Certain Regard section and nine films are screened but not in competition (Out of Competition). Before the opening day, the writers ofIndiewireSelect some of the most anticipated works at the event.

Featured films in the Palme d'Or competition

BlackKklansman (director Spike Lee)

The film tells the story of a black police officer in Colorado (USA) who infiltrates the base of the Ku Klux Klan - a racist organization. The script is adapted from the bookBlack Klansmanby Ron Stallworth, based on his real-life investigative activities in the late 1970s. DirectorBlackKklansmanSpike Lee is a famous American filmmaker who specializes in exploiting topics related to ethnicity. The work has a satirical color, showing a very different portrait of America.

Burning (director Lee Chang Dong)

The collaboration between Haruki Murakami - famous Japanese author - and Lee Chang Dong - Korean master director - has experts looking forward to it. Based on a short storyBarn BurningMurakami's novel revolves around the encounter between two men and a young woman, who are involved in a mysterious incident.

* Movie trailer

Burning Movie Trailer

Along with Park Chan Wook and Kim Ki Duk, Lee Chang Dong is a Korean director who has made a splash at many international film festivals. In 2010, he won the "Best Screenplay" award at Cannes for his workPoetryAfter this film, Lee took eight years off before making another.Burning, making experts even more expectant.

Cold War (Paweł Pawlikowski)

Paweł Pawlikowski is a Polish-born British filmmaker who won the 2015 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for his filmIdaHe often borrows historical contexts to tell stories about intimate relationships between people.Cold WarThe story revolves around the love of a man and a woman with different lifestyles, taking place backstage at the performances of the Mazowsze group - a Polish folklore performance team established by the government after World War II.

Girls of the Sun (Eva Husson)

In 2015, female director Eva Husson shocked the Toronto Film Festival (Canada) with the filmBang Gang (A Modern Love Story), which features a teenager organizing sex parties. Three years later, she embarks on an ambitious projectGirls of the Sun- tells the story of a group of women in Kurdistan (an autonomous province of Iraq) who take up arms to liberate their hometown from extremists. The group's leader - a lawyer - befriends a female war correspondent.

The Image Book (Jean-Luc Godard)

Among the directors with films at Cannes this year, Godard is a living legend of world cinema, often on the list of the greatest filmmakers in history voted by magazines. He was born in 1930, a pioneer of the New Wave movement (originating in the 1960s, advocating unique, authorial filmmaking, criticizing mass-produced films). In 2014, when the filmGoodbye to LanguageGodard's film premiered in Cannes, hundreds gathered to chant the director's name. Many thought it was Godard's last film, but he continued his career.

At the age of 88, Godard brings to Cannes his workThe Image Book. The film's content is kept secret except for the description: "Nothing but silence. Nothing but a revolutionary song. A story in five chapters, like five fingers on a hand."

Happy as Lazzaro (Alice Rohrwacher)

After the movieThe WondersHaving won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2014, Alice Rohrwacher returns to the event with her workHappy Lazzaro. The script revolves around the relationship between Lazzaro - a kind-hearted farmer - and Tancredi - a young nobleman. Tancredi asks Lazzaro to stage his own kidnapping, leading to a series of strange events. The script includes time travel but does not focus on science fiction elements but explores the human journey to find the soul.Happy as Lazzaromarks the Italian filmmaker's move - known for films about puberty - to bigger themes.

Shoplifters (Hirokazu Kore-eda)

Shoplifters (Hirokazu Kore-eda)

Hirokazu Kore-eda (born 1962) is one of the most outstanding representatives of contemporary Japanese cinema. He regularly has films competing at Cannes and won the Jury Prize in 2013 withLike Father, Like Son. After the workThe Third MurderLast year's underrated film, Hirokazu returns with Shoplifters. The story follows a poor thief named Osamu, who works as a thief with his son. Things get complicated when Osamu takes in an abandoned baby girl.

Under the Silver Lake (David Robert Mitchell)

Under the Silver Lake (David Robert Mitchell)

Horror blockbusterIt Follows(2014) launched the career of David Robert Mitchell - an American director born in 1974. His new film -Under the Silver Lake- follows the neo-noir style (taking the dark theme of classic noir films but with a more modern approach). Actor Andrew Garfield plays a young investigator living aimlessly, haunted by the disappearance of a beautiful neighbor. While searching throughout Los Angeles (USA), he discovers many shocking truths about celebrities, corporations, and word-of-mouth stories in the city...

Yomeddine (Abu Bakr Shawky)

With its strict standards, the Cannes Film Festival rarely selects a director's debut film to compete for the Palme d'Or. So when Abu Bakr Shawky's debut was chosen, the experts immediately took notice. Produced by an Egyptian unit, it is also the only "African voice" in the films competing for the most important awards. The work is titledYomeddine(Judgment Day), follows a leper who leaves his community of sick people to find out why he was brought there.

3 Faces (Jafar Panahi)

Jafar Panahi is an Iranian filmmaker with a unique fate. Because of his controversial works, he was placed under house arrest in his homeland in 2010 and was not allowed to make films for 20 years. However, the director continued to release acclaimed works, includingTaxi(Golden Bear Award at the 2015 Berlin Film Festival).

Umbrella3 Faces- Jafar's new film - was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or, he could not come to France due to the ban on leaving Iran. The president of the Cannes Film Festival - Thierry Fremaux - and many filmmakers tried to convince the government of this country but failed. The film tells the story of three actresses at three different stages of their careers.