Still from The French Dispatch
The French Dispatch was initially scheduled to premiere at Cannes 2020 but that edition was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Still from The French Dispatch
The latest film by US director Wes Anderson, The French Dispatch, will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this year in the official competition, organisers said on Friday.
The star-studded cast of the film includes Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Timothee Chalamet, Adrien Brody, Benicio del Toro, and Saoirse Ronan, as well as French actors Lea Seydoux and Mathieu Amalric.
The film, initially planned to screen at Cannes last year before the festival was cancelled because of , "will have its world preview premiere in the Cannes competition", the festival tweeted.
It is confirmed! Initially scheduled to be unveiled at #Cannes2020, #TheFrenchDispatch by Wes Anderson will make its world premiere in Competition at #Cannes2021 before its release in theaters on 10/22/2021.
More about the 74th edition ► https://t.co/iZZpjzXyMe— Festival de Cannes (@Festival_Cannes) May 28, 2021
It follows events at the French foreign news bureau of a Kansas newspaper set in a fictitious 20th-century French city.
Two other films have already been confirmed for the official selection which groups movies competing for the Palme d'Or, one of global cinema's top awards.
One is Annette, a musical film scheduled to open the festival, by Frenchman Leos Carax starring Marion Cotillard and Adam Driver, and with '70s pop duo Sparks contributing the score and, in collaboration with Carax, the screenplay.
The other is Benedetta by Dutchman Paul Verhoeven, famous for Basic Instinct, about the life of a novice nun in the 17th century who has a love affair with another woman.
The full line-up of the official competition will be released on 3 June.
At the last Cannes festival in 2019, the Palme d'Or went to South Korean film Parasite by Bong Joon-ho.
The festival, the world's biggest film gathering usually held in May, was postponed this year by nearly two months because of restrictions, and is now scheduled for 6 to 17 July. US director Spike Lee will head up the main jury.
With inputs from Agence France-Presse.