The 76th Cannes Film Festival is well underway at the French Riviera. As one of the biggest events in the film calendar, this is where some of the world’s most talented directors will premier their masterpiece in hopes of being awarded the Palme d’Or, the industry’s most prestigious award. Previous winners include Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” (2019), Julia Ducournau’s “Titane” (2021) and Ruben Östlund’s “Triangle of Sadness”. 

The focus of the festival remains with the films that are to be screened, but adding a layer of glitz and sparkle to the event are the celebrities that are invited to the event. All dressed to the nines, and decked in scintillating jewels, the Cannes Film Festival is an opportune affair for fashion and jewellery houses to garner eyeballs. 

For this year’s edition, there are 21 films competing for the Palme d’Or. The jury that will be presiding the result includes last year’s winner Ruben Östlund. The festival also sees more female filmmakers vying for the top spot — seven films were female-led, which is a record high in its almost 80 years of existence. This year’s line-up showcases familiar names and heavyweights such as Wes Anderson, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Todd Haynes, Wim Wenders and more.

Ahead we round up the top 6 most anticipated films playing at the 76th Cannes Film Festival, the list includes films in and out of competition, Un Certain Regard and Special Screenings.

Asteroid City by Wes Anderson

Set in a fictional town in 1955, the plot revolves around a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention where students and their parents from across the country gather but it is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events. The ensemble of casts include famous actors and actresses like Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson and Tom Hanks. 

Killers of the Flower Moon by Martin Scorsese

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Lily Gladstone, “Killers of the Flower Moon” is legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese’s epic drama that spotlights one of America’s most bloodstained history. The film is a true-crime story based on the bestseller by David Grann and depicts a series of murders among the Osage tribe in Oklahoma during the 1920s. The story starts with the happy faces of the Osage people after finding oil reserves on their land and receiving headrights but as the story unfolds, greed takes on various facades and this led to what was known as the “Reign of Terror”.

Premiered on 21 May inside the Grande Theatre Lumiere, the film received a standing ovation that lasted seven minutes. Many film critics have also regarded the movie to be the front runner at the next Oscars.

May December by Todd Haynes

The film is centred on a couple in a May-December romance but set 20 years later after their “notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation”. Gracie Atherton-Yu, played by Julianne Moore, and her husband Joe (23 years her junior) buckle under pressure when Hollywood actress Elizabeth Berry, played by Natalie Portman, arrives to do research for a film about the couple’s past.

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Monster by Hirokazu Kore-eda

Seasoned filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda’s film “Shoplifters” won the Palme d’Or in 2018 and this year he wishes to recreate the moment with this new film. The premise of “Monster” follows a mother who starts to notice her young son behaving strangely. Wanting to understand what has happened to her son, she turns to his school and teacher, and demand to know what is going on. 

The Zone of Interest by Jonathan Glazer

The film is loosely based on a novel of the same name by Martin Amis, andfollows a Nazi officer and his wife as they set up their life in a home located next to a concentration camp. The novel tells the story of a love triangle involving Hedwig and a Nazi officer. It is narrated from the perspectives of three characters, including a Jewish Sonderkommando.

Jeanne Du Barry by Maiwenn

Already premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival, the film starring Johnny Depp received a standing ovation as it opened the 12-day event. The film marked Depp’s return to the silver screen after a defamation trial with his ex-wife Amber Heard last year. In the film, Depp plays King Louis XV and it revolves around the relationship between the king and a courtesan who became his favourite mistress.  

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