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La nueva edición tendrá como eje temático el cruce entre el humor y lo fantástico. © Sitges

Apuntad en vuestra agenda cinéfila: del 9 al 19 de octubre, la ciudad costera de Sitges volverá a metamorfosearse en la capital del cine fantástico. Hoy, durante la rueda de prensa celebrada en la Fàbrica Moritz Barcelona, Ángel Sala y Mònica Garcia i Massagué, Director Artístico del Festival y Directora de la Fundación, respectivamente, han ofrecido el primer gran anticipo de la programación del Festival de Sitges 2025, con el cruce entre el humor y el género fantástico como hilo conductor.

En su edición número 58, el Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya inaugurará con Alpha, el nuevo largometraje de la cineasta francesa Julia Ducournau, que se convierte en la tercera mujer en inaugurar Sitges después de que lo hicieran Mary Harron y Ana Lily Amirpour. Esta vez, su nueva película explora un mundo distópico que funciona...

Joshua Rubin: Original "28 Years Later" Treatment: "18 years ago, I was asked to develop a concept for the final chapter of the 28 Days Later trilogy. I'm finally sharing my original treatment...

For those new to the blog, this is Joshua Rubin, video game writer and founder of Strange Land Comics. But long before comics and video games, I had built a decade-long career as a screenwriter in Hollywood.

It was back in 2007 when DNA Films in London — the producers of Danny Boyle’s 28 Days/Weeks saga — invited me to brainstorm a final chapter to the series.

It was one of those rare gigs where I got to go all-in — not pitching a sequel, but a true ending. Bigger in scale, deeper in theme. A film that could expand the world and still feel intimate and raw, like the first one did.

Now, almost two decades later, a new 28 Years...

Swiss-born director and designer Marcel Barelli will receive the Locarno Kids Award at the 78th edition of the Locarno Film Festival this summer.

He will be awarded the honor, presented by la Mobiliare, on the evening of Tuesday, Aug. 12. During the festival, Barelli will present the Swiss premiere of Mary Anning, chasseuse de fossiles, his new animated film dedicated to the British paleontologist and fossil pioneer “who revolutionized the discipline in the early decades of the 19th century.”

The fest also unveiled the lineup for this year’s Locarno Kids Screenings, the section dedicated to younger audiences. The program includes Arco, a French animated feature about unexpected friendship and the fate of a world impacted by climate change that won the best film award at this year’s Annecy film festival and counts Natalie Portman among its producers.

“Barelli has established himself as one of the most promising and original...

Neon will be releasing filmmaker Chloe Domont’s latest thriller A Place in Hell from MRC and T-Street in the domestic market.

Multi-Oscar winning Parasite and Anora distributor will also be co-financing the movie with MRC and Republic Pictures and Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman’s T-Street producing. Republic Pictures will handle foreign distribution.

Neon

A Place in Hell, which Deadline first told you about, is a thriller following two women at a high-profile criminal law firm. Pic stars five-time Oscar-nominee Michelle Williams, Daisy Edgar Jones and Andrew Scott.

Neon is co-financing the film with MRC and Republic Pictures, with T-Street producing. The deal was negotiated by Alison Cohen, Emily Thomas, and Jeff Deutchman for Neon, and Peter McPartlin for Republic Pictures.

A Place in Hell recently wrapped production in New Jersey.

Domont’s sex noir Fair Play, which MRC and T-Street also produced, was acquired by Netflix at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival for $20 million.

Neon has set an October 15 awards corridor North American release for Jafar Panahi’s Palme D’Or winner It Was Just An Accident.

The company, which five years ago shepherded Parasite from its Palme D’Or win to the best picture Oscar, is planning an awards push for Panahi’s film in categories including best picture, director, original screenplay and international film.

Neon acquired North American rights to It Was Just An Accident at Cannes, a few days before the acclaimed drama won the festival’s top prize. The Cannes award made the film, which has since won the Sydney...

Neon has set an October 15 awards corridor North American release for Jafar Panahi’s Palme D’Or winner It Was Just An Accident.

The company, which five years ago shepherded Parasite from its Palme D’Or win to the best picture Oscar, is planning an awards push for Panahi’s film in categories including best picture, director, original screenplay and international film.

Neon acquired North American rights to It Was Just An Accident at Cannes, a few days before the acclaimed drama won the festival’s top prize. The Cannes award made the film, which has since won the Sydney...

Exclusive: Picturehouse Entertainment has acquired UK and Irish distribution to Ugo Bienvenu’s Annecy award-winning French animation Arco from Goodfellas.

The 2D computer animation was premiered as a Special Screening in Cannes in May before going on to win the top prize in Annecy last week.

Set in 2075,Arcofollows a 10-year-old girl called Iris who witnesses a mysterious boy in a rainbow suit fall from the sky. He comes from an idyllic far future where time travel is possible and Iris must help him return to his time.

’Arco’ review

Natalie Portman is among English-language voice actors and also has a producer credit.

DreamWorks Animation’s live-action remake of How To Train Your Dragon flew to the top of the North American charts at the weekend, establishing a new franchise opening record to maintain the positive early start to summer blockbuster season.

Opening on a confirmed $84.6m in 4,365 locations through Universal, the film has become the fourth biggest debut of the year so far behind A Minecraft Movie, Lilo & Stitch, and Captain America: Brave New World, and the eighth highest opening weekend for a live-action remake.

Total three-day weekendbox office amounted to an estimated $151.7m, with North Americangenerating $3.7bn so far to...

Natalie Portman-produced animated feature Arco, by the first feature of French director Ugo Bienvenu, has won the top Cristal Award at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

The movie revolves around 10-year-old time-traveling, rainbow-child Arco. He lives in the distant future of 2932 but gets trapped in 2075 when his maiden flight does not go to plan. Ten-year-old Iris witnesses his fall and comes to his rescue, making it her mission to get him home.

The film is produced Portman with Sophie Mas under their joint Paris and New York banner MountainA with Félix de Givry at Paris-based Remembers.

The film world premiered as a special screening in Cannes, where it was acquired by Neon for North American, as well as a slew of international buyers.

Arco is the first feature for Bienvenu after short films Maman and L’entretien and comic books. His multi-awarded best seller System Preference has been...

Arco, a French animated feature about of unexpected friendship and the fate of a world impacted by climate change, has won the Cristal for best film at this year’s Annecy film festival.

The feature debut of famed French illustrator Ugo Bienvenu, which premiered in Cannes and counts Natalie Portman among its producers, follows Arco, a 10‑year‑old boy from the year 2932 who inadvertently travels back in time, via a rainbow, to 2075, where he encounters Iris, a young girl living through environmental collapse. Their burgeoning friendship becomes a tender yet urgent bond across time, rooted in innocence, curiosity and shared heartbreak. In her rave Hollywood Reporter review, Lovia Gyarkye called Arco “a considered meditation on ecological disaster within the dulcet grooves of a charming story about adolescent friendship.”

‘Endless Cookie’ Courtesy of the Annecy Film Festival

The top prize for the Contrechamp sidebar section went to Endless Cookie, a Canadian...

Ugo Bienvenu’s French feature Arco won the Cristal award for best feature film at the 2025 Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

Produced by Felix de Givry for France’s Remembers and Natalie Portman and Sophie Mas for US firm MountainA, the film is co-written byt Bienvenu and de Givry.

Scroll down for the full list of feature winners

Arco depicts an eponymous rainbow who crash lands on near-future earth from the year 3000. A little girl who witnesses his fall helps him to return home.

It debuted as a Special Screenings title in Official Selection at Cannes last month.

The Jury...

Exclusive: Nicolas Winding Refn, the provocateur filmmaker behind titles like Drive and Bronson, has added five to the cast of his new Neon flick, Her Private Hell: Dougray Scott (Irvine Welsh’s Crime), Diego Calva (Babylon), Aoi Yamada (Perfect Days), Shioli Kutsuna (Deadpool & Wolverine), and Hidetoshi Nishijima (Drive My Car).

Plot and character details are being kept under wraps for the project, which marks Refn’s first for the big screen since The Neon Demon, starring Elle Fanning, in 2016. Sophie Thatcher, Charles Melton, Kristine Froseth, and Havana Rose Liu will lead the cast, as previously announced. Production is underway, with Neon repping worldwide rights and releasing the film in U.S. theaters, and Neon International handling foreign sales.

Written by Refn and Esti Giordani, Her Private Hell is directed and produced by Refn. Executive producers include Takuma Takasaki (Perfect Days), Kimberly Willming, Christina Erritzøe, and Lene Børglum, under the byNWR Originals banner.

Coming off its sixth consecutive Palme d’Or win with Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident, which it acquired at Cannes, Neon won a total of six awards at the festival, including the Grand Prix for Joachim Trier’s buzzy Sentimental Value. Also in Cannes, Neon debuted Julia Ducournau’s Alpha, Raoul Peck’s Orwell: 2+2=5, and Michael Angelo Covino’s Splitsville, acquiring North American rights to Sirât from Oliver Laxe, The Secret Agent from Kleber Mendonça Filho, and Ugo Bienvenu’s animated feature Arco with Natalie Portman.

Scott is represented by Gersh and Independent Talent Group; Calva by WME, Entertainment 360, and Lumina Management; Kutsuna by United Agents and Prime Talent Media; and Nishijima by CAA and Artists International Group.

Don’t be confused by the title. The new French animated film Arco that debuted at Cannes in May and is at France’s Annecy Animated Film Festival this week is not about a gas station.

Instead, this debut feature film from illustrator and graphic novel creator Ugo Bienvenu has much on its mind and was quickly snapped up after its Cannes debut for U.S. distribution by busy buyer Neon, which no doubt sniffed a similar kind of potential success like its utterly delightful Robot Dreams which landed an Animated Feature Oscar nomination in 2023. Even more to the point, Neon may sense a successor to a sleeper animated hit that also initially debuted in Cannes last year, the miraculous Latvian Flow, which not only was nominated as Best International Feature (a first for that country) but actually won Best Animated Feature over heavyweight competition from behemoths Disney/Pixar, DreamWorks and Netflix.

Exclusive: Goodfellas Animation has unveiled a raft of deals on Annecy-bound animated features Little Amélie Or The Character Of Rain, Arco and Angel’s Egg.

Having world premiered as Special Screenings in Cannes, Little Amélie Or The Character Of Rain and Arco are both playing in Annecy’s main competition, while 4K restoration Angel’s Egg screens in Annecy Classics.

Goodfellas Animation’s Annecy slate also includes Andy Serkis’ Animal Farm, featuring Serkis alongside Seth Rogen, Steve Buscemi, Glenn Close and Kieran Culkin among others in the voice cast, on which it will launch sales in unison with the premiere at the festival.

In Europe, Little Amélie Or The Character Of Rain has sold to Benelux (Paradiso), Switzerland (Agora), Spain (A Contracorriente), Italy (Lucky Red), Portugal (Cinemundo), Scandinavia (Another World/Njutafilms), Ex-Yugocslavia and Bulgaria (McF), Romania (Independenta) and Poland (So Films).

In the rest of the world, it has...

The Annecy International Animation Film Festival kicks-off this weekend with a masterclass by French filmmaker Michel Gondry, who will also receive a career award alongside The Simpsons creator Matt Groening and UK animation director Joanna Quinn at the opening ceremony.

It marks The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind director Gondry’s first trip to the lakeside event, billed as the biggest animation festival in the world, although his work Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy?:An Animated Conversation with Noam Chomsky played at the festival in 2014, winning the best French film prize.

“Michel is exactly like Terry Gilliam,” says the festival’s artistic director Marcel Jean, referring to Annecy’s 2024 guest of honor. “He comes from the world of animation. That’s where he started. We’ve wanted to invite him for a long time and the planets have aligned.”

Jean notes that Gondry’s visit also coincides...

Exclusive: Olivia Cooke is set to star in the Neon thriller Brides from Watcher director Chloe Okuno, who will direct from a script she wrote. The pic will be produced by Anthony Bregman and Stefanie Azpiazu through Likely Story. Neon will release Brides theatrically.

The film follows Sally Bishop (Cooke) and her husband, who travel to a remote Italian villa whose owner, a mysterious count, takes a peculiar interest in Sally. Cooke steps in for Maika Monroe, who had scheduling issues with her Universal film Reminders of Him.

As a filmmaker, Okuno’s feature debut was the psychological thriller Watcher, starring Monroe and Burn Gorman, which premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and went on to play several other festivals. Drawn to genre-based material that aims to excite and unsettle, her other works include writing and directing the award-winning horror short Slut and the...

Neon CEO Tom Quinn took no chances this year en route to winning the company’s sixth Cannes Palme d’Or in a row, for Iranian dissident Jafar Panahi’s “It Was Just an Accident.” He acquired the film just two days before Saturday’s award ceremony. Neon also collected the festival Jury Prize for “Sirât” (shared with Mubi’s recent buy “Sound of Falling”), and two awards for Brazil’s “The Secret Agent” — Best Director (Kleber Mendonça Filho) and Actor (Wagner Moura ).

Neon came out ahead on the acquisitions derby, as Mubi’s starry $23-million pick-up “Die My Love,” from Scottish/British filmmaker Lynne Ramsay, came up empty-handed. A Cannes Actress win for Jennifer Lawrence could have fueled an Oscar campaign, but that loss won’t stop Mubi from pursuing that goal. Similarly, although Oliver Hermanus’ muted American drama “History of Sound” won nothing, Focus may still pursue acting...

Exclusive: Neon is closing up a deal for rights to Natalie Portman-voiced animation Arco, which recently launched at the Cannes Film Festival.

French director Ugo Bienvenu’s animated feature, which has been described as “France’s answer to Studio Ghibli”, is about a boy who uses rainbows to travel through time and his adventures as he gets stuck in the wrong era.

Oscar winner Portman is also producing with Sophie Mas under their joint Paris and New York banner MountainA with Félix de Givry at Paris-based Remembers.

It’s another win for Neon, which has been voracious once again at Cannes, also acquiring The Secret Agent, It Was Just An Accident and Sirat, in addition to Sentimental Value, which they already had.

Taking its cue from the fantasy premise that rainbows are time machines, the movie revolves around 10 year old rainbow-child Arco, who lives in the distant future, 2932. His...

This week on “Screen Talk,” we take you behind the scenes of the goings-on at the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival on the French Riviera, where we recorded on Day Two. Politics dominated the first press conferences with director Thierry Frémaux and the nine-member jury led by Juliette Binoche. They turned up for opening night as well, where Leonardo DiCaprio presented an honorary Palme d’Or to Robert De Niro, and Quentin Tarantino bounded onto the stage to declare the festival open. The opening night film “Leave One Day,” from French rookie Amélie Bonnin, a strictly local jukebox musical with the actors singing French pop hits of the ’80s, will not travel.

Later that night, DiCaprio attended the gala dinner with De Niro at the Palm Beach, where Anne enjoyed talking with “Anora” Oscar-winners Sean Baker and Samantha Quan, the hilarious Michael Covino (“Splitsville”), Amazon’s Scott Foundas, Michael Barker...

Long admired for his bold graphic novels, inventive short films, and music videos, French artist Ugo Bienvenu makes a striking leap to the big screen with “Arco”, a 2D animated sci-fi feature that earned a Special Screening at Cannes. Set in the year 2075, “Arco” follows a rainbow-caped boy who falls from the sky and into the life of 10-year-old Iris. The premise, and meeting Bienvenu, was enough for Natalie Portman and her producing partner Sophie Mas to sign on.

“We were amazed when we saw the original artwork,” Portman told IndieWire. “Ugo’s style is so unique and gorgeous. It’s just like a next level of animation. And the story, of course, is so hopeful and inspiring. It’s exactly what we want to put out into the world.”

While the term producer is often willfully vague, Mas and Portman were involved throughout the film’s production. In fact,...

Cannes – Unless you’re well-versed in French-language graphic novels, you may not know the name Ugo Bienvenu, but if you are a lover of near-future Science Fiction, you will soon. After years of development, the critically lauded graphic artist has made his feature directorial debut with “Arco,” an imaginative and often moving animated wonder.

Read More: Cannes 25 Most Anticipated Films: “Die My Love,” “Sentimental Value,” “Eddington”

The movie begins in the far future.

Continue reading ‘Arco’ Review: Ugo Bienvenu Animates An Inspired Vision Of The Future [Cannes] at The Playlist.

In Arco, French illustrator Ugo Bienvenu couches a considered meditation on ecological disaster within the dulcet grooves of a charming story about adolescent friendship. The debut feature, which premiered at Cannes as a special screening (and counts Natalie Portman among its producers), follows a 10-year-old boy (voiced by Oscar Tresanini) from the future whose maiden time travel voyage goes terribly awry. He lands in the year 2075, where he meets a girl his age (Margot Ringard Oldra) who tries to help him return home. Their adventure takes place during a critical period in Earth’s history and becomes a lesson for both children about the natural world and the enduring impact of meaningful bonds.

This might be Bienvenu’s first film, but the director’s interest in rendering the future and considering the stakes of technology on humanity stretch back a long time. His graphic novel System Preference, which has already...

There’s one particular journey the makers of “Arco,” a soulful animated movie premiering in the Special Screenings section of Cannes 2025, are hoping to follow, whether they say it or not. The journey of “Flow.”

That animated triumph premiered to raves at Cannes in 2024 and slowly built momentum until finally winning the Best Animated Feature Oscar earlier this year. For all Cannes represents to global cinema, it had never been a particularly fecund environment for animation: The festival used to play host to splashy premieres for blockbuster hits such as “Shrek 2” and “Bee Movie,” not eventual Academy Award winners. “Flow” changed all that. What would Cannes do for animation next?

This writer is no Oscar prognosticator, but it seems “Arco” is unlikely to repeat that triumph. Not that it isn’t a worthy film — though not as worthy as the wordlessly universal “Flow,” which, at times, truly feels like...

Natalie Portman is promoting her new film Arco at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival!

The Oscar-winning actress is part of the voice cast of the film and she joined the rest of the cast and creative team at a photo call on Friday morning (May 16) at Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France.

Natalie was joined by director and co-writer Ugo Bienvenu, co-writer Felix de Givry, as well as co-stars Alma Jodorowsky and Vincent Macaigne.

Arco follows “a 10 year old rainbow-child Arco, who lives in the distant future, 2932. His maiden journey in his multi-colored suit does not go to plan. He loses control and veers off course to land in a near future, 2075, where Iris, a girl the same age as Arco, witnesses his fall and then makes it her mission to get him home,” according to Deadline.

The movie was announced during last year’s Cannes Film Festival!

Fyi: Natalie is wearing Dior.

Exclusive: Goodfellas Animation has boarded international sales on Andy Serkis’ animated adaptation of Animal Farm, based on the iconic novella by George Orwell.

The company will introduce the film to buyers in Cannes next week ahead of its world premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June.

Lord of the Rings and Planet of the Apes star Serkis has gathered an all-star voice cast featuring Seth Rogen, Gaten Matarazzo, Steve Buscemi, Glenn Close, Laverne Cox, Kieran Culkin, Woody Harrelson, Jim Parsons, Andy Serkis, Kathleen Turner and Iman Vellani to bring the timeless allegory to life.

Directed by Serkis and written by Nick Stoller, Animal Farm is a modern adaptation of George Orwell’s classic novel, one of the most widely read books in history with countless copies sold and translations in more than 250 languages.

The story follows a group of farm animals who rebel against their human owners and take over the farm,...

The Annecy International Animation Film Festival (June 8-14), the world’s oldest and most prestigious animation festival, announced this year’s lineup, both in and out of competition, American studio presentations, special celebrations (including a tribute to Hungarian animation), and honorary awards.

This year’s highlights include Sylvain Chomet’s highly-anticipated 2D Marcel Pagnol biopic, “A Magnificent Life,” which will be a part of the official competition and released domestically this year through Sony Pictures Classics; sneaks of Andy Serkis’ “Animal Farm” and Genndy Tartakovsky’s R-rated, 2D “Fixed” (streaming on Netflix); and special previews of Disney’s “Zootopia 2,” Pixar’s “Elio,” DreamWorks’ “The Bad Guys 2,” Sony Picture Animation’s “Goat,” Paramount Animation’s “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for Squarepants,” and Netflix’s “In Your Dreams.”

Meanwhile, Annecy 2025 introduces a new short film program, Midnight Shorts, and launches the Annecy Dome, a new 32-seat venue for immersive works.

The Annecy International Animation Festival has unveiled the line-up for its 2025 edition, running from June 8 to 14. (scroll down for full list of Official Selection titles)

Having previously announced Michel Gondry as an honorary guest, the festival will also celebrate UK Oscar nominee Joanna Quinn (Affairs of the Art) and The Simpsons creator Matt Groening with honorary Cristal awards.

Twenty-one feature films will be showcased in the festival’s Main Competition and Contrechamp Competition, selected from 130 submissions.

Main competition titles include Sylvain Chomet’s Marcel Pagnol tribute A Magnificent Life as well as Félix Dufour-Laperrière’s Death Does Not Exist, and Dandelion’s Odyssey by Momoko Seto, and Ugo Bienvenu’s Arco.

In a break with tradition, the opening night will world premiere a selection of five shorts rather than a single feature animation.

“After a historic 2024 edition, with a record attendance of 17,400 badge-holders, and all this despite a difficult context for the industry,...

The Annecy International Animation Film Festival, the world’s most important week in global animatioon, returns to the French Alps this June 9-15, hosting visionary directors, groundbreaking films and a burgeoning number of established and emerging studios and voices from around the world.

This year’s edition is one of the most ambitious yet, marked by a rich blend of themes, powerful political storytelling and a notable emphasis on independent animation. As fest art director Marcel Jean notes, “The quality of independent animation has increased in a most spectacular way,” which is evident across this year’s programming, particularly in the Official Competition and Contrechamp Feature categories.

Below, the 10 features selected in both the Official and Contrechamp sections and a quote from Jean explaining why they were picked, followed by several highlights from today’s announcements. The festival’s popular Work in Progress lineup was unveiled earlier this month.

2025 Feature...

Annecy, the world’s leading animation film festival, unveiled its official program on Wednesday, with a line-up that includes features from some 20 countries across Europe, Asia and the Americas and a range of styles, from the big-budget 3D computer animated feature Into the Mortal World from Chinese director Zhong Ding; to the hand-drawn title Balentes by Italian filmmaker Giovanni Columbu, and the digital cut out animation of Mexican filmmaker Aria Covamonas: The Great History of Western Philosophy.

Covamonas’ debut premiered at the Rotterdam festival, and Annecy’s 2025 lineup features a best-of selection of recent fests, including Berlinale highlights Lesbian Space Princess and Tales from the Magic Garden, and several features premiering in Cannes next month, including The Magnificent Life of Marcel Pagnol from The Triplets of Belleville director Sylvain Chomet; Dandelion’s Odyssey from Japanese director Momoko Seto; and Death Does Not Exist from Canadian filmmaker Felix Dufour-Laperrière.

‘Lesbian Space...

France’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival (June 8-14) will preview upcoming animations including Zootopia 2, Animal Farm and the Stranger Things animated series as part of its 2025 lineup.

The Simpsons creator Matt Groening, director Michel Gondry andacclaimed UK animator Joanna Quinn will receive honorary Cristal awards.

Gondry will present his Berlinale 2025 title Maya, Give Me a Title as a special screening.

Scroll down for the full list of competition films, screening events and studio showcases

Also attending are Andy Serkis for what the festival described as a ‘special premiere’ of his animated feature adaptation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm,...

This year’s Cannes Film Festival lineup just got a little splashier.

Kristen Stewart’s long-awaited directorial debut The Chronology of Water and the Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson-starring Die, My Love from director Lynne Ramsay have been added to the schedule. Stewart’s film, which stars Imogen Poots, will screen in the fest’s Un Certain Regard section while Die, My Love will be in the fest’s competition section.

Also joining the competition section is Woman and Child, the latest title from Iranian director Saeed Roustaee. The filmmaker previously competed for the Palme d’Or at the 2022 fest with his film Leila’s Brothers. Elsewhere, Ethan Coen’s Honey Don’t! will premiere in the fest’s Midnight section. The road trip movie stars Aubrey Plaza, Margaret Qualley and Chris Evans.

The latest title joins an already announced line-up that includes films from Richard Linklater, Wes Anderson, Julie Ducournau and Spike Lee.

After the initial main announcement and sidebars, the full Cannes Film Festival lineup has now come into focus with 16 additions today. Highlights include Lynne Ramsay’s Die My Love, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson, in competition, while elsewhere Kristen Stewart’s directorial debut The Chronology of Water, Ethan Coen’s Honey Don’t, Hlynur Palmason’s The Love That Remains, Koji Fukada’s Love on Trial, Lav Diaz’s Magellan, and Pedro Pinho’s I Only Rest in the Storm have been added.

See below via Screen Daily.

Competition

Die My Love, dir. Lynne Ramsay

Mother And Child, dir. Saeed Roustaee

Un Certain Regard

Love Me Tender, dir. Anna Cazenave Cambet

A Poet, dir. Simon Mesa Soto

I Only Rest In The Storm, dir. Pedro Pinho

The Chronology Of Water, dir. Kristen Stewart

Cannes Premiere

Love On Trial dir. Koji Fukada

The Love That Remains, dir. Hlynur Palmason

Magellan,...

The Cannes Film Festival has added a fresh round of titles to its 78th edition, including Lynne Ramsay’s Die, My Love and Saeed Roustaee’s Woman And Child which will play in the main competition. (scroll down for full list)

Ramsay’s dark comedy thriller Die, My Love transposes Ariana Harwicz’s novel about a woman living in the French countryside who develops severe postpartum depression, to Montana and stars Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson.

Roustaee’s Woman and Child, is the first film from the Iranian director since his 2022 Cannes Palme d’Or contender Leila’s Brothers.

The contemporary family drama of revenge and forgiveness stars Parinaz Izadyar (Law of Tehran) as a widowed nurse struggling with her rebellious son. Tensions reach a peak during the betrothal ceremony with her new boyfriend, but when a tragic accident occurs, she finds herself confronting feelings of betrayal as she seeks justice.

The Cannes Film Festival has updated its 2025 Official Selection with 16 new films, including two new Competition titles.

Lynne Ramsay’s Die, My Love and Saeed Roustaee’s WomanAnd Child join the Competition line-up, bringing it to 21 films.

Scroll down for the full list of new titles

The Un Certain Regard line-up adds a further four films, including Kristen Stewart’s directorial debut The Chronology Of Water, and is now at 20 films.

The festival has also added Ethan Coen’s Focus Features title Honey Don’t!starring Margaret Qualley as a Midnight Screening; and Hlynur Palmason’s The Love That Remains and...

It’s another year of high-profile animated sequels, led by Disney’s “Zootopia 2,” DreamWorks’ “The Bad Guys 2,” and Nickelodeon/Paramount’s “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for Square Pants,” and the “Smurfs” film.

But there are plenty of attention-grabbing non-sequels in 2025: “Pixar’s intergalactic “Elio,” DreamWorks’ “Dog Man,” Neon’s French “Arco,” Sony Pictures Classics’ “A Magnificent Life,” Sylvain Chomet’s biopic about French author-filmmaker Marcel Pagnol, and Sony Picture’s “Scarlet,” the latest anime from Mamoru Hosoda (“Belle”).

In addition, Netflix delivers another diverse slate: “In Your Dreams,” “KPop Demon Hunters” (with Sony Pictures), Genndy Tartakovsky’s 2D adult comedy, “Fixed,” “Lost in Starlight” (the streamer’s first Korean-language animated film), “Plankton: The Movie” (with Nickelodeon), and “The Twits” adapted from Roald Dahl.

Also, there are three Oscar-qualifying holdovers from 2024: “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl,” “The Colors Within,” and “The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie.

Exclusive: Animation-focused sales company Gebeka International has unveiled new images for Little Amelie, adapted from Belgian writer Amélie Nothomb’s bestseller The Character of Rain ahead of an EFM push.

Tackling themes of self-awareness and child development, the work revolves around a child born in Japan to a Belgium family. It takes inspiration from the Japanese belief that until the age of three years old, all children are Gods, and then on their third birthday they fall from grace and join the rest of humanity.

Liane-Cho Han and Mailys Vallade’s Little Amelie is the first adaptation of Nothomb’s fictionalized autobiography tapping in her childhood in Japan.

For an intense 3 years, the young protagonist discovers language, her parents, brother and sister, a heavenly garden, passions (Japan and water), aversions (to carp), seasons and time, as she passes a period that will shape her life forever, in happiness and tragedy.

Exclusive: Natalie Portman has joined the voice cast for French director Ugo Bienvenu’s upcoming animated feature Arco about a boy who uses rainbows to travel through time and his adventures as he gets stuck in the wrong era.

Portman is also producing with Sophie Mas under their joint Paris and New York banner MountainA with Félix de Givry at Paris-based Remembers.

Taking its cue from the fantasy premise that rainbows are time machines, the movie revolves around 10 year old rainbow-child Arco, who lives in the distant future, 2932.

His maiden journey in his multi-colored suit does not go to plan. He loses control and veers off course to land in a near future, 2075, where Iris, a girl the same age as Arco, witnesses his fall and then makes it her mission to get him home.

Arco

Arco is the first feature for Bienvenu after short films Maman and L’entretien and comic books.

The Cineuropa folks have highlight three action-genre projects we’ll now be keeping tabs on and which have benefitted from some coin from the Cnc folks. The screenplays for La vraie vie by Marie Monge, Arco by Ugo Bienvenu and Trompe la mort by Rocco Labbé have been selected. Here is the low down on the three projects.

La vraie vie – Marie Monge

Prod: Cinenovo’s Julie Viez / Sailor Films’ David Pierret

Based on Adeline Dieudonné’s novel of the same name, this revolves around Billie who protects her little brother Gilles from the violence in their family by using her vivid imagination to tell him stories, which act as ramparts against reality.…...

Blockbuster docu-series “Magellan’s Extraordinary Odyssey,” action thriller “The Devil’s Leap” and the Vincent Elbaz-led detective tale “Everybody Lies” were among distributor Clpb Rights’ hottest titles at this year’s Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris, with the three projects closing broadcast deals in key territories.

Executive produced by François Bertrand of Camera Lucida, listing Arte France, Belgica Films, Minimal Films, Serena Productions and co-producers, and directed by François de Riberolles, the epic miniseries “Magellan’s Extraordinary Odyssey” retraces the 16th century expedition that saw Fernando Magellan and an ever-dwindling number of sailors complete the first-ever trip around the world.

Boasting visuals from illustrator Ugo Bienvenu and sound design from Oscar winners Samy Bardet and Nicolas Becker (“Sound of Metal”), the program pulled in more than 1 million primetime viewers when it was broadcast on Arte last November, and has since sold to Rtbf (Belgium), Movistar (Spain), Axess TV (Sweden), Rts...

Brussels-based company Best Friend Forever has acquired “Coma,” the latest film by celebrated French director Bertrand Bonello (“Saint Laurent”). “Coma” will have its world premiere premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in the Encounters section.

Weaving genre, animation and live action, the stylish movie boasts an exciting cast including Louise Labeque (“Zombi Child”) and Julia Faure (“Camille Rewinds”), with voices by beloved late actor Gaspard Ulliel, as well as Louis Garrel, Laetitia Casta, Anaïs Demoustier and Vincent Lacoste.

“Coma” explores online behavior and content consumption through the eyes of a teenage girl who immerses audiences into her dreams and nightmares. Locked in her room, her only relationship to the outside world is virtual. Navigating between dreams and reality, she’s guided by a disturbing and mysterious YouTuber, Patricia Coma.

Bonello’s 10th feature, “Coma” was produced by Les Films du Bélier and My New Picture. Co-producers are Remembers Production, the...

Ugo Bienvenu (aka Ugo), the popular French illustrator and comics author of “Préférence système,” is partnering up with veteran producer Valerie Schermann on his animated feature debut “Arco.”

An ambitious science-fiction film, “Arco” is being co-developed and co-produced by Remembers, the outfit launched by Bienvenu and Félix de Givry, and Schermann at Akaba. The project was previously presented by the Cartoon Movie forum and has already sparked interest from several distributors.

Bienvenu, who grew up in Guatemala, Tchad, Paris and Mexico, graduated from the Gobelins school, studied at CalArts, and has so far created five graphic novels targeting young adults, notably “Paiement accepté,” and “Préférence.”

He also previously co-wrote and co-directed the mini-series “Antman,” as well as several shorts, including the animated title “Maman” (with Kevin Manach) which competed at Annecy in 2013. Aside from his career in comics and films, Bienvenu is also creating exclusive content, including commercials for the Paris Opera,...

A short competition player at this year’s MyFrenchFilmFestival, “Blue Fear” is the colorfully animated brainchild of filmmakers Marie Jacotey and Lola Halifa-Legrand, neither of which had any experience in the artform before working on the short together.

“Blue Fear” uses traditional 2D animation to tell the story of a couple on the roads of Provence, France. Nils is driving Flora to his parents to introducer her to them for the first time when they get ambushed. Flora is taken as a prisoner and Nils flees. A captive for an evening in the woods, Flora is placed face-to-face with her fears and doubts.

The short is produced by Miyu Productions and distributed by Miyu Distribution, executive produced by Emmanuel-Alain Raynal and Pierre Baussaron. The short has already enjoyed a stellar international festival run, featuring at Cannes, Clermont-Ferrand, Leeds, Anima, Ghent and Biaf, among others.

Jacotey and Halifa-Legrand spoke to Variety...

Ant-man may not be the finest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it is a hell of a lot of fun, and that fun seems to have translated over to the small screen in these awesome Ant-Man shorts which will soon premiere on Disney Xd this weekend. Directed by Ugo Bienvenu and Kevin Manach of Passion Pictures, Marvel's Ant-Man almost feels like a vintage comic brought to life, complete with... Read More...

Not since Captain America: Civil War have we seen Ant-Man in action. But now, thanks to Disney Xd and French filmmakers Ugo Bienvenu and Kevin Manach we now have some animated shorts to hold us over until the next time we see Scott Lang and Wasp appear on the big screen. 

These are very short, only about 1 minute 45 seconds, which is more than suiting given Ant-Man's stature. The animation style is very fitting and has the perfect amount of action and silliness that you would expect.

What do you guys think of the shorts?

The Ant-Man shorts are set to air on Disney Xd between June 10 and 11, but you can watch the first three down below.

While we wait for Marvel to release Ant-Man and the Wasp, fans will be able to enjoy a new series of Ant-Man animated short films coming to Disney Xd. The project was announced by EW and they offered a first look at the animation style of the shorts.

Voiced by Josh Keaton, the shrinking hero will fight evil alongside the Wasp and Hank Pym. He’ll score occasional breaks to help daughter Cassie with her homework.

The Ant-Man shorts will be created by Passion Pictures, which is the same studio that developed the Rocket and Groot animated shorts. They are also the same team behind Gorillaz's animated music videos.

The series will consist of six two-minute shorts that will be directed by Ugo Bienvenu and Kevin Manach. The first short is titled “Science Fair”, and is set to air Saturday, June 10 at 7:58 am Et, with the next two “Alien...

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Ever since Disney purchased Marvel, they’ve exploited the company’s many characters in movies, on television, in theme parks, and stores across the world. That’s ensured that the likes of Iron Man and Spider-Man are known by people of all ages, but less popular heroes have also been given the chance to shine; take Ant-Man for example.

Ant-Man and The Wasp is set to be released next year, but in the meantime, some new animated shorts are on the way to Disney Xd. These follow on from the ones we saw revolving around Guardians of the Galaxy characters Rocket and Groot and are set to premiere on June 10th and 11th.

Josh Keaton is voicing Scott Lang in the shorts and the hero will be shown fighting evil alongside both The Wasp and Hank Pym. He’ll score occasional breaks as well to help daughter Cassie with her homework,...

Rob Leane May 23, 2017

Ant-Man will shrink onto the small screen, for a series of shorts on Disney Xd...

Fittingly enough, Ant-Man is going to flit between the big and small screens. Scott Lang is shrinking to telly size for Disney Xd, to appear in a series of shorts entitled Marvel's Ant-Man.

See related Star Wars: Rogue One review Star Wars: Rogue One - what did you think?

Josh Keaton (heard recently in Ben-10 and Voltron: Legendary Defender) will step into Paul Rudd's shoes to voice crook-turned-hero Scott.

The shorts will follow on from the events of Peyton Reed's 2015 Ant-Man movie, but, as with the Guardians Of The Galaxy animated series, we wouldn't expect them to be officially canonical with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The cinematic sequel Ant-Man And The Wasp, we expect, won't need to shape its script to account for these events.

Entertainment Weekly broke the news,...

Marvel Animation announced today at New York Comic Con, an all-new animated series called Marvel’s Spider-Man will be premiering on Disney Xd in 2017. Marvel’s Ultimate Spider-Man will culminate in January 2017 with an exciting two-part finale arc “Graduation Day” that will see Spider-Man stop Doctor Octopus and the Superior Sinister Six from destroying all of the heroes in New York City.

The new series, Marvel's Spider-Man, tells the story of an unsure (but courageous) teen who has to figure out how to be a Super Hero from the very beginning. Produced by Marvel Animation, the series' award-winning creative team includes executive producers Alan Fine ("Marvel's The Avengers," "Iron Man," "Thor"), Dan Buckley ("Marvel's Avengers Assemble," "Marvel’s Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H."), Joe Quesada ("Marvel's Avengers Assemble") and Jeph Loeb ("Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."); co-executive producers Stan Lee ("Spider-Man"), Eric Radomski ("Spawn," "Marvel's Avengers Assemble"), Cort Lane ("Marvel...

Seeking to take advantage of tax breaks in France, Marvel has commissioned two animated short series for Ant-Man and Rocket Raccoon & Groot.  No official word yet but it's likely these shorts will debut as part of the Disney Xd's Marvel Universe programming block that already includes Marvel's Avengers Assemble, Guardians of the Galaxy and Ultimate Spider-Man.   French directors Ugo Bienvenu and Kevin Manach will team to tackle Ant-Man while Arnaud Delord will handle the Rocket & Groot shorts.  What's your take on these kinds of projects.  A while back, Cartoon Network did something similar with its DC Nation Shorts.   Eventually, this type of programming could be used to highlight some lesser known characters in the Marvel catalog.  ...

A new listing from the BBFC indicates that the next direct-to-video feature title from WB Animation, after the release of "Batman: The Killing Joke" this Summer, will be a "Justice League Dark" adaptation.

The BBFC classification indicates 'Killing Joke' will boast a sneak peek at Jld. What impact that will have Guillermo del Toro's long gestating live-action adaptation s unclear though likely negligble.

Over at rival camp Marvel, Variety reports that Marvel Animation is working on a pair of TV shorts series - "Ant-Man" and "Rocket and Groot" - wth both being done by French filmmakers. Ugo Bienvenu and Kevin Manach will do "Ant-Man" while Arnaud Delord is working on 'Groot'.