“Cinema is in a state of constant renewal. You can feel that the artists and filmmakers are putting their whole hearts into it,” said Festival Director Thierry Frémaux in the run-up to the film festival. “The festival’s values are clear: We stand for creative freedom, faith in human creativity, and a steadfast and absolute belief in cinema.” Last Thursday, Festival President Iris Knobloch and Festival Director Thierry Frémaux announced the official lineup in the main categories. In recent days, the program for the other sections has been released.

Valeska Grisebach’s THE DREAMED ADVENTURE will screen in the In Competition category. The drama is set in the border region between Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey. There, a woman strikes a deal to help an old acquaintance. She follows the hero on his adventure and enters dangerous territory, where she is confronted not only with her own past but also with her desires.
The German production company Nine Hours is involved in Pawel Pawlikowski’s FATHERLAND, which is also in competition. In this biographical film, German actors Hanns Zischler and Sandra Hüller play Thomas and Erika Mann, who embark on a journey through Germany during the Cold War.
In addition, the minority German co-productions ALL OF A SUDDEN by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, GENTLE MONSTER by Marie Kreutzer, and MINOTAUR by Andrey Zvyagintsev are competing for the Palme d’Or.

German director Volker Schlöndorff returns to Cannes. His film VISITATION will have its world premiere in the Cannes Première section. The drama centers on a picturesque lakeside property near Berlin. The location serves as the backdrop for the stories and life journeys of its successive owners and their fates, which are intertwined and shaped by the historical upheavals of the 20th century.

I’LL BE GONE IN JUNE marks Katharina Rivilis’s debut as a feature film director. Her road movie, screening in the Un Certain Regard section, centers on 16-year-old Franny, who is set to spend an exchange year in the U.S. shortly after 9/11. Instead of New York, she ends up in remote New Mexico, where she meets Elliott before she has to return home. ELEPHANTS IN THE FOG by Abinash Bikram Shah, also in Un Certain Regard, tells the story of Pirati, the matriarch of a community of Kinnar women in a Nepalese village, who must choose between personal happiness and responsibility.

The section also features another production with 50 percent German participation. EVERYTIME by Sandra Wollner is a family drama in which a mother and her daughter try to come to terms with the death of another daughter during a vacation in Tenerife, until the past and present slowly blur.

The Quinzaine des Cinéastes is also screening a film produced 50 percent in Germany: the short film DAUGHTERS OF THE LATE COLONEL by Elizabeth Hobbs. It tells the story of two middle-aged sisters who are at a loss following the death of their hot-tempered and domineering father, until an unexpected visitor inspires new courage to face life.

Another German short film is featured in the Semaine de la Critique. Berthold Wahjudi’s "VATERLAND" OR A BULE NAMED YANTO tells the story of Yanto, a German-Indonesian man who travels to Yogyakarta to visit his sister. The film explores themes of sibling bonds, home, and a sense of belonging between Germany and Indonesia.

In parallel with the festival, German Films has invited three producers to participate in the Producers Network program in Cannes. The Producers Network welcomes more than 400 producers from around the world to a series of meetings and unique events specifically designed to create networking opportunities and launch international co-production projects. Representing Germany are Balthasar Busmann (Amerikafilm), Verena Gräfe-Höft (Junafilm), and Saralisa Volm (Poison).

German Films will also be on site in Cannes again this year. The German Pavilion (Village International Riviera, Pavilion 128), in collaboration with the FFA, BKM, and Focus Germany (FilmFernsehFonds Bayern (FFF), Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, Hessen Film & Medien, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, MFG Medien- und Filmgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg, Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (MDM), MOIN Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, MV Filmförderung, and nordmedia – Film- und Mediengesellschaft Niedersachsen/Bremen) is set to serve as a platform for filmmakers to meet and exchange ideas once again this year. 

All German productions and co-productions in Cannes at a glance:

In Competition
ALL OF A SUDDEN by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (FR/JP/DE/BE, Heimatfilm)
FATHERLAND (VATERLAND) by Pawel Pawlikowski (PL/DE/IT/FR, Nine Hours)
GENTLE MONSTER by Marie Kreutzer (AT/DE/FR, Komplizen Film)
MINOTAUR by Andrey Zvyagintsev (FR/DE, Razor Film Produktion)
THE DREAMED ADVENTURE (DAS GETRÄUMTE ABENTEUER) by Valeska Grisebach (DE/FR/BG/AT, Komplizen Film, New Matter Films)

Cannes Première
VISITATION (HEIMSUCHUNG) by Volker Schlöndorff (Ziegler Film, Volksfilm, STUDIOCANAL, Studio Babelsberg, Mideu Films)

Un Certain Regard
ELEPHANTS IN THE FOG (ELEFANTEN IM NEBEL) by Abinash Bikram Shah (NP/DE/FR/BR/NO, Die Gesellschaft DGS, Zischlermann Filmproduktion)
EVERYTIME by Sandra Wollner (AT/DE, The Barricades)
I’LL BE GONE IN JUNE by Katharina Rivilis (DE/CH, Road Movies, Wolfskind Films)

Quinzaine des Cinéastes
GABIN by Maxence Voiseux (FR/DE/CH, AMA FILM)
DAUGHTERS OF THE LATE COLONEL by Elizabeth Hobbs (UK/DE, Fabian&Fred)

Semaine de la Critique
THE STATION by Sara Ishaq (JE/JO/FR/DE/NL/NO/QA, One Two Films)
NAFRON by Daood Alabdulaa (SY/DE)
“VATERLAND” OR A BULE NAMED YANTO („VATERLAND" ODER EIN BULE NAMENS YANTO) by Berthold Wahjudi (DE/ID, madfilms, University of Television and Film Munich)
CITY OF OWLS by Zhenia Kazankina (FR/DE/IT, Eversince)