Dispatches from Cannes

Here are some of Ellie's top picks to keep an eye out for at Leeds International Film Festival or Hyde Park Picture House soon!

Sorry, Baby (Eva Victor, US) - 22nd August

One of my top films of the festival, Sorry, Baby has been making waves since its premiere at Sundance back in January. In her feature debut, writer-director Eva Victor addresses the aftermath of trauma with a candour I’ve never seen depicted in film. Presented in four chapters, Sorry, Baby addresses the ‘bad thing’ that happened to Agnes (Victor) without putting the film’s entire focus on it. Instead, we see in full honesty the support of Agnes’ friends, and sometimes strangers, as she navigates the life-changing event with humour and a rawness that’s so fresh, with such little attention given to the perpetrator and the act itself. Her frustrating attempt to be heard and cared for by institutions around her are played with deadpan humour through a witty screenplay. One of the most refreshing things is the depiction of the passing of time and the unexpected ways you’re reminded of trauma; how you learn to live with it rather than move on from it. An incredible film that made me laugh, sob and hug my friends in equal measure.

Tickets are now on sale to see Sorry, Baby at HPPH from Fri 22 Aug. You can book yours here.

Eddington - (Ari Aster, US) 22nd August

Ari Aster returns with a modern American-Western satire on COVID lockdowns, conspiracy theories and white privilege. Set in a fictional town in New Mexico as COVID lockdowns come into place, liberal mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal) and the town’s sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix), have very different views on how to approach the pandemic. As neighbour is pitted against neighbour and some complex relationships are revealed, Cross and his family become more irrational and slip further into the echo chamber. A departure from some of Aster's earlier work, Eddington is a provocative satire propelled by brilliant performances from Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal. A beautifully shot fever dream exploration of human darkness that descends into madness.

Tickets are now on sale to see Eddington at HPPH from Fri 22 Aug. You can book yours here.

Honey, Don’t! - (Ethan Coen, US) 5th September

If you loved Drive Away Dolls, you’ll love Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke’s next offering in their ‘lesbian B-movie trilogy’. Margaret Qualley returns, this time as a deadpan, small-town private investigator tasked with solving some strange deaths in the town, seemingly related to a church led by sleazy, cultish Reverend Drew (Chris Evans). With great Americana visuals and a ridiculously silly performance from Chris Evans (please just let him continue playing disgusting a**holes), Honey, Don’t is a fun and absurd film for the summer.

The Mastermind (Kelly Reichardt, US) 24th October

One of my absolute favourite directors returned to the festival with a film starring everyone’s current favourite actor, Josh O’Connor. O’Connor plays middle-class, Massachusetts family-man-turned-art-thief JB. After he becomes obsessed with stealing artwork from a local museum, a bumbling JB hires two men to assist with the heist with ridiculous consequences. O’Connor is brilliant as a shabby, narcissistic man who has lost his way, and Alana Haim shines as his stoic wife who really doesn’t seem that surprised at what he’s done. A slow rolling character study of morality with a '70s lens that Reichardt does so well. Featuring a fantastic jazzy score from Rob Mazureks which drives the film, The Mastermind is sure to be a big hit for fans of Night Moves (2013), and I hope it receives the attention Showing Up (2022) so rightly deserved.

These films don’t currently have a UK release date, but keep an eye out for them soon:

Left-Handed Girl (Shih Ching Tsou, Taiwan/US)

Shih Ching Tsou makes her solo feature debut with a heartwarming family drama, which became my standout film of the festival. The film follows a close-knit working-class family of women who move back to bustling Taipei to open a food stall in a night market. As the three generations adapt to their new way of living, their bond is tested and secrets are exposed, especially after left-handed youngest daughter I-Jing is told not to use her ‘devil hand’. A long-time collaborator of Sean Baker, having co-directed his second feature, Take Out, and produced Tangerine and The Florida Project, Shih-Ching Tsou steps into the spotlight with Left-Handed Girl, a film written by Baker but brought to life through Tsou’s distinctive directorial voice.

Dandelion’s Odyssey (Momoko Seto, France/Belgium)

I had very high expectations for Momoko Seto’s dialogue-free animation and was so happy it didn't disappoint. After a nuclear disaster on Earth, four dandelion seeds are uprooted and blasted into space in search of somewhere new to plant. A mesmerising and very trippy journey through the universe, Dandelion’s Odyssey is a beautifully meditative look at climate change, survival and the power of nature, with some brilliant characterisation that made me shed actual tears over an animated dandelion seed.

My Father’s Shadow (Akinola Davies Jr, UK/Nigeria)

There were some brilliant British debuts at Cannes this year (Urchin, Pillion), but I was really impressed by My Father’s Shadow, the feature debut from Akinola Davies Jr and co-written with his brother Wale Davies. Set over the course of a day, with the political unrest of the 1993 Nigerian elections lurking in the background, two young boys take a trip to Lagos with their absent father. There were many films from the perspective of children at this year’s festival, with the young actors in this shining the brightest as they struggle to interpret the adult world evolving around them. Beautifully shot on 16mm, Davies creates a dream-like world for the boys that unravels as they discover more about their father and the city life they’ve been sheltered from. The first Nigerian production to screen in the official selection at Cannes marks a director to watch.