Cannes 2024 lineup includes 3 BFI-supported UK films

Three films supported by the BFI have been announced among the lineup for this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Andrea Arnold’s Bird, backed by the BFI Filmmaking Fund, will play in Competition. Written and directed by Arnold and starring Barry Keoghan and Franz Rogowski, it’s the story of 12-year-old Bailey, who lives with her single dad Bug and brother Hunter in a squat in north Kent.

Sandhya Suri’s Santosh, also backed by the BFI Filmmaking Fund, will screen in Un Certain Regard. Suri’s debut narrative centres on newly widowed Santosh, who inherits her husband’s job as a police constable in the rural badlands of northern India. When a low caste girl is found raped and murdered, she is pulled into the investigation under the wing of charismatic feminist inspector Sharma.

Also in Un Certain Regard is September Says, directed by Ariane Labed, a minority UK co-production with Ireland, Germany and Greece supported by the UK Global Screen Fund, awarding funds from the UK government.

“We are energised by the strong line-up of UK films just announced in official selection at Cannes 2024,” says Mia Bays, director of the BFI Filmmaking Fund. “Particularly Andrea Arnold, returning to the festival with her incredible new film Bird and while also being honoured with the Directors’ Fortnight’s Carrosse d’Or award; and for Sandhya Suri whose stunning narrative debut feature Santosh will screen in Un Certain Regard. They are two very distinctive female filmmakers at very different stages of their careers, who we are proud to support through the BFI National Lottery Filmmaking Fund.” 

Among the other films playing in competition are new works by directors including Francis Ford Coppola, David Cronenberg, Yorgos Lanthimos, Jacques Audiard, Paul Schrader, Jia Zhangke, Miguel Gomes, Paolo Sorrentino and Coralie Fargeat. Jury president is Greta Gerwig.

Second Act, Quentin Dupieux

All We Imagine as Light, Payal Kapadia

L’amour Ouf, Gilles Lellouche

Anora, Sean Baker

The Apprentice, Ali Abbasi

Bird, Andrea Arnold

Caught by the Tides, Jia Zhang-Ke

Emilia Perez, Jacques Audiard

The Girl with the Needle, Magnus Von Horn

Grand Tour, Miguel Gomes

Kinds of Kindness, Yorgos Lanthimos

Limonov — The Ballad, Kirill Serebrennikov

Marcello Mio, Christophe Honoré

Megalopolis, Francis Ford Coppola

Motel Destino, Karim Ainouz

Oh Canada, Paul Schrader

Parthenope, Paolo Sorrentino

The Shrouds, David Cronenberg

The Substance, Coralie Fargeat

Wild Diamond, Agathe Riedinger

Armand, Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel

Black Dog, Guan Hu

The Damned, Roberto Minervini

L’Histoire de Souleymane, Boris Lojkine

My Sunshine, Hiroshi Okuyama

Norah, Tawfik Alzaidi

On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, Rungano Nyoni

Le Royaume, Julien Colonna

Santosh, Sandhya Suri

September Says, Ariane Labed

The Shameless, Konstantin Bojanov

Viet and Nam, Truong Minh Quý

Vingt Dieux!, Louise Courvoisier

The Village Next to Paradise, Mo Harawe

Who Let the Dog Bite?, Lætitia Dosch

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, George Miller

Horizon, An American Saga, Kevin Costner

Rumours, Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson, Guy Maddin

She’s Got No Name, Peter Chan

The Balconettes, Noémie Merlant

I, the Executioner, Seung Wan Ryoo

The Surfer, Lorcan Finnegan

Twilight of the Warrior Walled In, Soi Cheang

C’est pas moi, Leos Carax

Everybody Loves Touda, Nabil Ayouch

The Matching Bang, Emmanuel Courcol

Miséricorde, Alain Guiraudie

Rendez-Vous Avec Pol Pot, Rithy Panh

Le Roman de Jim, Arnaud Larrieu, Jean-Marie Larrieu 

Apprendre, Claire Simon

Le Belle de Gaza, Yolande Zauberman

Ernest Cole, Lost and Found, Raoul Peck

Le Fil, Daniel Auteuil

The Invasion, Sergei Loznitsa