The prestigious Festival de Cannes has announced the first batch of Official Selection films for the 2025 event, covering titles set to screen In Competition, Un Certain Regard, Out of Competition, Midnight Screenings, Cannes Premiere and Special Screenings programs.
Among the feature films created by familiar names like Wes Anderson (The Phoenician Scheme), Richard Linklater (Nouvelle Vague), Spike Lee (Highest 2 Lowest), Christopher McQuarrie (Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning), even Scarlett Johansson and Bono, Cannes will see the return of highly esteemed animation director Sylvain Chomet, whose A Magnificent Life (alternatively titled The Magnificent Life of Marcel Pagnol, and Marcel et Monsieur Pagnol in French) will be presented in the Special Screenings.
The latest animated feature from French filmmaker Chomet (The Triplets of Belleville, The Illusionist) is due to open in France in October through Wild Bunch, and has been picked up for release by Sony Pictures Classics in the U.S. The film is an animated biopic dedicated to celebrated 20th century French novelist, playwright and filmmaker, Marcel Pagnol.
Synopsis: In 1955, 60-year-old Marcel Pagnol is a well-known and acclaimed playwright and filmmaker. When the editor-in-chief of ELLE magazine commissions a weekly column about Pagnol’s childhood, he sees this as a great opportunity to go back to his artistic roots: writing. Realizing his memory is failing him and deeply affected by the disappointing results of his last two plays, Pagnol starts doubting his ability to pursue his work. That is until Little Marcel — the young boy he used to be — appears to him as if by magic. Together, they will explore Marcel Pagnol’s incredible life and bring back to life his most cherished encounters and memories…
A Magnificent Life is produced by What The Prod, Mediawan, Bidibul Productions and Walking The Dog. Producers are Ashargin Poire and Valerie Puech for What the Prod; co-producers are Lilian Eche’s Bidibul Productions, Adrian Politowski’s Align and Aton Soumache for Mediawan Kids & Family Cinema, in collaboration with Nicolas Pagnol from Pagnol’s Estate.
You can read more about the the film here. The full list (so far) of films selected for Festival de Cannes 2025 can be found at festival-cannes.com.
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