Countdown to Cannes 2017: Who made the competition?
The 70th Cannes Film Festival unfolded at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès from 17 to 28 May 2017, a moment when the Croisette was already deep into its annual dance of premieres, press scrums, and late-night strategy sessions. The competition slate showcased an unusually eclectic mix of returning auteurs and emerging voices, each one carrying its own set of expectations and backstories. Here is the full lineup of films that screened In Competition that year.
Wonderstruck, Todd Haynes
Based on the novel of the same name, Wonderstruck was directed by Todd Haynes, last seen at Cannes with his much-acclaimed film Carol.
Le Redoutable, Michel Hazanavicius
Hazanavicius, best known for his Academy Award-winning silent-era homage The Artist, tells the story of Jean-Luc Godard’s second marriage. Godard himself has been less than complimentary about the movie, calling it a “stupid, stupid idea.” Make up your own mind here.
Geu-Hu (The Day After), Hong Sangsoo
The South Korean director, known for Right Now, Wrong Then, brings his drama to the competition.
Hikari (Radiance), Naomi Kawase
Kawase won the Grand Prix at Cannes back in 2007 for The Mourning Forest. Watch the trailer for this year’s submission here.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Yorgos Lanthimos
Starring Nicole Kidman and Colin Farrell, this Lanthimos movie is meant to be even bleaker than The Lobster.
A Gentle Creature, Sergei Loznitsa
Apparently, this film was inspired by Dostoyevsky’s short story – it was described as a “journey into the abyss” by the Ukrainian director of In The Fog and Maidan.
Jupiter’s Moon, Kornél Mundruczó
Mundruczó is known for his unsettling 2010 film Tender Son: The Frankenstein Project which competed at Cannes, while his 2014 film White God won that year’s Prize Un Certain Regard. This new film deals with immigration, mysterious powers and exploitation.
L’amant Double, François Ozon
Ozon’s 2012 mystery/drama In The House was well liked by critics; L’amant Double is also billed as a psychological drama. You can watch the trailer here.
You Were Never Really Here, Lynne Ramsay
The Amazon Studios production stars Joaquin Phoenix and is based on a novella by Jonathan Ames. Never one to shy away from dark topics, Glasgow-born Ramsay is most famous for her adaptation of another literary work, We Need To Talk About Kevin.
Good Time, Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie
The New York fraternal indie filmmaking team brings their tale of a robber on the run to Cannes. The Safdies are known for their 2014 epic Heaven Knows What, a festival favorite.
Loveless, Andrey Zvyagintsev
Known for his 2014 film Leviathan, which won the best screenplay prize at Cannes, the Russian director is back with a bleak tale of a family in crisis.
The Meyerowitz Stories, Noah Baumbach
This comedy, starring Adam Sandler and Emma Thompson, is distributed by Netflix. The inclusion of the streaming giant in this year’s competition has ruffled a few feathers as Cannes crashes into the 21st century. Baumbach is probably best known for his adaptation of Fantastic Mr. Fox as well as catapulting the career of his now partner Greta Gerwig with Frances Ha.
Ismael’s Ghosts, Arnaud Desplechin
Desplechin’s most recent film My Golden Days was a film festival favorite winning various awards in 2015, while his new entry explores love and loss.
In the Fade, Fatih Akin
Akin, best known for his 2004 award-winner Head-On, cast Diane Kruger in her first German-speaking role for his new Cannes entry.
Okja, Bong Joon-Ho
Written by the team of Bong Joon-Ho (whose Snowpiercer won 33 awards back in 2013) and Jon Ronson and starring Tilda Swinton, this feature, also from tech giant Netflix, promises to offer a cautionary tale of love, rescue, and capitalism set in South Korea. Watch the trailer here.
120 Battements par minute, Robin Campillo
Campillo is best known as a successful television and film writer of works like The Returned and Eastern Boys.
The Beguiled, Sofia Coppola
Coppola changes pace with this western revenge thriller starring Nicole Kidman, Elle Fanning and Kirsten Dunst. Her 2006 film Marie Antoinette won the Cannes Cinema Prize of the French National Education System. Check out the trailer for The Beguiled here.
Rodin, Jacques Doillon
Doillon is best known for his 2003 cross-cultural drama Raja, which won the 2004 Cannes France Culture Award. Check out the trailer for Rodin here.
Happy End, Michael Haneke
This movie, set in Calais, is based around the European immigration crisis and owes the timeliness of its subject to Haneke, best known for his Oscar- and Palme d’Or-winning film Amour.
2017 Cannes Awards Highlights
Once the lights dimmed and the final ballots were counted, the Palme d’Or went to Ruben Östlund’s The Square, a sharp satire on the contemporary art world that had premiered outside the original preview slate yet captured the jury’s attention. Robin Campillo’s 120 Battements par minute earned the Grand Prix, a recognition that elevated the film’s profile well beyond the Croisette. Nicole Kidman received the Special 70th Anniversary Prize, an honor that underscored her commanding turn in Sofia Coppola’s The Beguiled and her long-standing relationship with the festival.
The Netflix Controversy and Its Aftermath
The presence of Okja and The Meyerowitz Stories in competition immediately ignited debate among French exhibitors who argued that streaming titles without guaranteed theatrical releases undermined the traditional cinema ecosystem. Industry meetings stretched late into the night, and the resulting policy shift required future competition entries to secure a French theatrical distribution plan. The rule change rippled through subsequent festivals, forcing distributors and streamers to recalibrate their release strategies well before the first poster went up.
Jury and Festival Leadership
Pedro Almodóvar presided over the jury, bringing his own distinctive eye for bold storytelling and visual daring to the deliberations. The 70th edition also featured a redesigned Palme d’Or, a new casting of the golden palm that honored the anniversary while maintaining the trophy’s iconic silhouette. Almodóvar’s presence lent an extra layer of anticipation to the awards ceremony, as directors and publicists alike tried to read the room during the final screenings.
Legacy of the 2017 Competition Films
Several titles from that year continued to shape their directors’ trajectories long after the festival flags came down. Yorgos Lanthimos moved from The Killing of a Sacred Deer into a string of high-profile English-language projects, while Sofia Coppola leveraged the reception for The Beguiled into further explorations of period settings and female ensembles. The Safdie brothers parlayed the buzz around Good Time into wider studio interest, and Hong Sangsoo maintained his steady output of intimate relationship dramas that kept returning to the Croisette. Even the Netflix entries, despite the surrounding controversy, opened doors for streaming companies to test the waters at major festivals with greater preparation and clearer distribution plans.
The 2017 lineup ultimately offered a snapshot of cinema at a moment when traditional and digital distribution models were colliding, and the decisions made on the Croisette that May continued to influence how films reached audiences for years afterward. The conversations that began over espresso at the Carlton or in the Palais corridors helped set the tone for an industry still figuring out how to balance prestige, commerce, and access.
