The Festival de Cannes (6 - 17 July, 2021) has announced the films of its Sélection officielle at a press conference. A total of 64 titles are featured in the selection. The Semaine de la Critique and Quinzaine des Réalisateurs have also unveiled their programmes. Numerous co-productions from Germany have made it into the line-up.

This year's opening film ANNETTE by Leos Carax is a co-production between three countries and was made, among others, with German participation by Fabian Gasmia (DETAiLFILM) who was one of the producers on the musical starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard.

No less than ten productions with German participation are screening in the renowned festival's Competition: for instance, there is LINGUI by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun as a co-production between France, Belgium and Germany. Made in Germany Filmproduktion is the German partner of the drama about a single mother in Chad, with Films Boutique handling world sales. The latest work by Hungarian director Ildikó Enyedi, THE STORY OF MY WIFE (HU/DE/FR/IT), is also in the running for the Palme d'Or. The film was co-produced by Komplizen Film.

The joint Austrian-German production GREAT FREEDOM by Sebastian Meise is one of the films set to have its world premiere in Un Certain Regard. Starring Franz Rogowski, the film is the life story of Hans Hoffmann, who was persecuted and repeatedly imprisoned for his homosexuality in post-war Germany under Paragraph 175. Rohfilm Productions is the German producer.

EVOLUTION by Kornél Mundruczó, a 50/50 German-Hungarian co-production, will be presented in the newly created Cannes Premières section for works by established filmmakers. The Match Factory is handling world sales.

The German project KEIN WORT by Hanna Slak has been selected for the L'Atelier programme which has been organised by the Cinéfondation since 2005 and promotes the production of new feature-length films. The directors of the respective films are invited to Cannes to establish contacts with industry representatives and promote their film. Around 15 projects from all over the world are selected each year.

The parallel sidebar Quinzaine des Réalisateurs will be treating audiences to the French-German coming-of-age film LES MAGNETIQUES by Vincent Cardona and CLARA SOLA (SW/BE/CR/DE) by Nathalie Álvarez Mesen. The Semaine de la Critique will screen  AMPARO by Simon Mesa Soto, a co-production between Colombia, Sweden, Germany and Qatar, and THE GRAVEDIGGER'S WIFE (FIN/DE/FR) by Khadar Ayderus Ahmed.

This year will see Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival as a guest at Goes to Cannes with a showcase of five films. The projects will be presented to potential partners, distributors and festival programmers at the Palais des Festivals on 10 July. WHISPERS OF WAR by Florian Hoffmann is also one of the selected titles: it tells the story of a teacher in Germany who becomes caught up with the events of the war back in his Kurdish hometown.

This year, German Films is collaborating with the Marché du Film to organise Coaching Group Sessions for four young up-and-coming producers. Leopold Pape (MY VIETNAM), Tamara Erbe (BABY BITCHKA), Lisa Marie Wischer (LOVE. DUTY & HOPE) and Linda Hartogs (GIVE ME A SMILE) will be travelling to France to receive top-notch advice about project development from leading industry experts as part of a tailor-made programme. The programme will also include Zoom calls with specialists, group meetings, and the preparation of a project roadmap. The selected participants will also have access to the Producers Network's programme of events during the 2021 edition of the Marché du Film (6-15 July).

There will be a joint presence of German Films and Focus Germany, the umbrella organisation of the eight largest German regional film funds, at the Marché du Film again this year. The German Pavilion is offering German filmmakers the opportunity to meet industry colleagues on site in a scaled-down form and subject to strict hygiene conditions. Appointments must be booked in advance since the pavilion's capacity is very limited.

A list of all German films and co-productions in Cannes can be found here.