A 75^th birthday should be enough reason for a big celebration, but after being forced into a very much reduced and belated edition in 2021 due to the Covid pandemic, Cannes will this year pull out all the stops, starting on opening night.

Michel Hazanavicius’ newest film Final Cut, starring his The Artist discovery Bérénice Bejo, will open the festival on May 17. Some other highlights premiering out of competition are Elvis by Baz Luhrman, a Cannes attendee since he first made a splash with Strictly Ballroom in 1992: the film is fully sanctioned by Priscilla Presley who is played by Olivia DeJonge with Tom Hanks starring as Colonel Tom Parker.

Top Gun: Maverick is not missing the free publicity, either and nor are Masquerade by Nicolas Bedos, Novembre by Cédric Jimenez, Three Thousand Years of Longing by George Miller, or L’Innocent by Louis Garrel.

In the main category, vying for the Palme d’Or are new films from 2018 winner auteur Hirokazu Koreeda who took the prize for Shoplifters. He is back with Broker. So is another Cannes favorite, David Cronenberg. His latest is Crimes of the Future, starring Viggo Mortensen and Kristen Stewart, a futuristic take on organ replacement. Given the topic, one can expect blood and gore. James Gray brings Armageddon Time, about a young boy who gets into a fight with the Trump family at an elite school in Queens, where in real life Fred Trump was a Board member while his son Donald went there. The film features Anthony Hopkins, Jeremy Strong, Anne Hathaway, and famous cinematographer Darius Khondji. Another old-timer, Park Chan-wook is back with Haeojil Gyeolsim (Decision to Leave) a romantic crime mystery thriller.

Cannes is still not quite on track with other festivals’ 50/50 gender rule. Women directed only five out of 21 main competition films: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi’s Forever Young, Claire Denis’ Stars at Noon, Kelly Reichardt’s Showing Up, Leonor Serraille’s Mother and Son, and the Charlotte Vandermeersch co-directed (with Felix Van Groeningen) Le Otto Montagne.

Women fare better in the Un Certain Regard section, which boasts ten female helmers with eight films (out of 19) being debuts. Most notable: Riley Keough & Gina Gammell who made War Pony about two young Indigenous men growing up on a reservation, and Lola Quivoron’s Rodeo about French dirt bikers. Others include Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Smoczynska’s The Silent Twins and Chie Hayakawa’s Plan 75.

The jury for this section is headed by Valeria Golino and includes Edgar Ramírez, Debra Granik, Benjamin Biolay, and Joanna Kulig.

French actor Vincent Lindon is president of the main jury, which also includes actor/director Rebecca Hall, Bollywood star Deepika Padukone, Swedish star Noomi Rapace, Italian actress Jasmine Trinca, Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, French producer/writer/director/actress Ladj Ly, US-filmmaker Jeff Nichols and Norway’s enfant terrible Joachim Trier.

Almódovar muse, Spanish actress Rossy de Palma was chosen as jury president of the Caméra d’Or, which is awarded to a first feature film.

Forest Whitaker will receive the Honorary Palme d’Or during the opening night ceremony. He says that he has a special relationship with the festival: “34 years ago, attending Cannes for the first time changed my life, and assured me that I’d made the right decision to devote myself to finding connectivity in humanity through film. It’s always a privilege to return to this beautiful festival to both screen my own work, and to be inspired by many of the world’s greatest artists – and I feel incredibly honored to be celebrated as part of the festival’s momentous 75th anniversary.”

Actor/producer Viola Davis is the chosen honoree of this year’s Women in Motion Award, given by the Kering Group in cooperation with the festival. The Golden Globe-winner, who can currently be seen as Michelle Obama in the TV series First Lady, also recently published “Finding Me,” her autobiography – already a bestseller – which she wrote during the pandemic and in which she describes her underprivileged childhood in South Carolina.

The mission of this anniversary edition of the festival can be summed up in the words of festival director Thierry Frémaux: “The prestige of Cannes belongs to a very complex trade secret. While maintaining a solid connection with its past, the festival is very ready to take onboard new and original concepts. Over the years, it has evolved, all the while seeking to preserve its core values: the celebration of film, the discovery of new talent, and the bringing together of professionals and journalists from around the world with the aim of contributing to the creation and distribution of films.”