Dublin-backed films to play at Cannes

A number of films produced by Dublin companies will play at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival next month.

Three films from Element Pictures, fresh off their Oscar success with Poor Things, will play at the most high-profile film festival in the world.

Kinds Of Kindness reunites the Poor Things’ creative team of director Yorgos Lanthimos and Oscar winner Emma Stone and will compete for the Palme D’Or, the festival’s top prize.

Kinds Of Kindness will mark Element Pictures’ 5th English-language collaboration with the Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos having produced his English-language debut The Lobster in 2015.

Films by esteemed directors such as David Cronenberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Paul Schrader, and Andrea Arnold will compete for the top prize which was won by Anatomy Of A Fall in 2023.

Element Pictures has financed the directorial debut of Greek actress Ariane Labed; her film September Says will play in the Un Certain Regard section of the festival which looks to spotlight works by upcoming directors.

On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, directed by Zambian/British director Rungano Nyoni, has already received backing from A24 and BBC Film and was produced by Element Pictures.

“We’re absolutely thrilled and honoured that an unprecedented three films from Element Pictures are included in the Official Selection at the Cannes Film Festival,” Element co-CEOs Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe said.

Guiney and Lowe, who were both nominated for Best Picture for their roles as producers on Poor Things, said “this is a significant achievement for the Element team and for the exceptionally talented directors, writers, actors and crews that we work with.”

“These films are all incredibly special and we can’t wait for the world to see them. We are as ever very grateful to the Element team who have worked tirelessly on all three films to ensure they were finished in time for the festival.”

Dublin director Lorcan Finnegan’s film with Nicolas Cage, The Surfer, will be shown at the Midnight Screenings section of the festival.

The Aussie-shot flick was co-produced by Finnegan’s own production company Lovely Productions.

Dublin production company Tailored Films produced The Apprentice, a film that focuses on Donald Trump’s relationship with political fixer Roy Cohn.

The film stars Sebastian Stan as a younger version of Trump, and Succession star Jeremy Strong as Cohn.

This year’s iteration of Cannes is likely to be dominated by Francis Ford Coppola’s epic, Megalopolis, competing for the Palme D’Or.

Coppola has previously won the Palme D’Or twice for The Conversation and Apocalypse Now, and the legendary director will look to make it a hat-trick with his long-gestating epic.

Barbie director Greta Gerwig will serve as jury president this year, with the festival taking place from May 14th to May 25th.