Two films made by Arab filmmkers, both from the established and young generations, have been chosen by the Cannes programming team to represent Arab cinema at the 65th edition of the Festival de Cannes, the oldest and most prestigious film Festival in the world.

“Baad el Mawkeaa” (After the Battle) by Egyptian director Yousry Nasrallah is one of the 22 films chosen to be part of the official competition selection this year. Nasrallah’s film tells the story of the Egyptian revolution and what happens after “that battle”. Alongside Nasrallah, a number of famous directors including David Cronenberg, Michael Haneke, Jacques Audiard, Ken Loach, Walter Salles, Abbas Kiarostami will also be on this year’s red carpet, competing to win the Festival prestigious award, “The Palme d’Or”. Each of them will bring along his own cast including stars such as Nicole Kidman, Brad Pitt, Robert Pattinson, Kirsten Dunst, Marion Cotillard, Bruce Willis, Eva Mendes, Tilda Swinton and many more.

While Nasrallah is the only Arab in the official competition, another Arab filmmaker has been chosen to compete within “A Certain Regard” selection. With “Les chevaux de Dieu” (God’s horses), Morrocan director Nabil Ayouch examines the ravages of fundamentalism and terrorism in Morrocco. “A Cannes selection is a travel within cinema and a travel through the world,” said Frémaux. “Filmmakers talk about the world that surrounds them.”

“A Certain Regard” 17-film selection also includes Senegalese director Moussa Toure, Chinese director Lou Ye, as well as Brandon Cronenberg, son of David Cronenberg, who will present his first feature film called “Antiviral”.

The official opening film will be Wes Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom”, while the Festival will close with Claude Miller’s “Thérèse Desqueyroux”, as a tribute to the French director who died recently.

Films by Dario Argento, Philipp Kaufman, Fatih Akin, Takeshi Miike and Bernardo Bertolucci will be also be part of the festival’s “Out of competition”, Midnight and Special screenings. Finally Cannes will celebrate its 65th anniversary with a documentary about the Festival made by the Festival président Gilles Jacob himself.

In total, the Festival team has watched 1779 films before selecting 54 of them, representing 26 countries from all over the world. Selections of the Critics’ week and the Directors’ Fortnight will be disclosed next week.

Opening Film:
“MOONRISE KINGDOM — Wes ANDERSON”

video#1

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DE ROUILLE ET D’OS — Jacques AUDIARD

HOLY MOTORS — Leos CARAX

“COSMOPOLIS — David CRONENBERG”

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THE PAPERBOY — Lee DANIELS

KILLING THEM SOFTLY — Andrew DOMINIK

REALITY — Matteo GARRONE

AMOUR — Michael HANEKE (LOVE)

LAWLESS — John HILLCOAT

DA-REUN NA-RA-E-SUH — HONG Sangsoo (IN ANOTHER COUNTRY)

DO-NUI MAT — IM Sangsoo (TASTE OF MONEY)

LIKE SOMEONE IN LOVE — Abbas KIAROSTAMI

“THE ANGELS’ SHARE — Ken LOACH”

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IM NEBEL — Sergei LOZNITSA
(IN THE FOG)

BEYOND THE HILLS — Cristian MUNGIU

BAAD EL MAWKEAA (AFTER THE BATTLE) — Yousry NASRALLAH

MUD — Jeff NICHOLS

VOUS N’AVEZ ENCORE RIEN VU — Alain RESNAIS

POST TENEBRAS LUX — Carlos REYGADAS

“ON THE ROAD — Walter SALLES”

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PARADIES : Liebe — Ulrich SEIDL (PARADISE : Love)

JAGTEN — Thomas VINTERBERG (THE HUNT)

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Closing Film:
Claude MILLER