Cannes Film Festival 2017: Line-up, celebrity attendees and all the best parties

Stars including of Nicole Kidman, Jessica Chastain and Bella Hadid will descend on the Croisette this week 
Jennifer Ruby18 May 2017
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

The biggest stars in the world are gearing up to descend on the French Riviera for the 70th annual Cannes Film Festival.

Hotly-anticipated films by directors including Sofia Coppola and Michael Haneke are set to screen as the likes of Uma Thurman, Julianne Moore, Bella Hadid and Lily-Rose Depp walk the red carpet at screenings and premieres over the course of 12 days.

Interspersed with industry parties, charity balls and the presentation of the coveted Palme d'Or, this year’s festival is shaping up to be a landmark celebration.

Here’s everything you need to know:

Best ever Cannes dresses - in pictures

1/67

What are the films to look out for?

While big Hollywood fare is thin on the ground at this year’s festival, eagerly-awaited new offerings by some of the world’s most acclaimed and original directors are set to screen.

Todd Haynes, who directed Carol and I’m Not There, will debut Wonderstruck, which reunites him with actress Julianne Moore as well as Michelle Williams.

Following the success of his 2015 film The Lobster, Yorgos Lanthimos returns to the festival with The Killing of a Sacred Deer, his second English language film, which stars Nicole Kidman and Colin Farrell.

The acting pair also star opposite each other in Coppola’s The Beguiled, a Gothic southern tale about a Confederate soldier whose stay at a women’s residence takes a horrific turn.

Lynne Ramsay’s You Were Never Really Here is set to be another highlight, seeing as she hasn’t realised a film since 2011’s acclaimed We Need to Talk About Kevin.

Who’s on the jury?

Actors including Will Smith, Agnès Jaoui, Jessica Chastain and Fan Bingbing are all part of this year’s awards jury, which is presided over by director Pedro Almodóvar.

Filmmakers and writers including Paolo Sorrentino, Maren Ade and Park Chan-wook will also sit on the panel.

Uma Thurman heads up the Un Certain Regard jury, which focuses on independent film.

What’s the opening film?

Arnaud Desplechin's Ismael's Ghosts, starring Marion Cotillard and Charlotte Gainsbourg, has been selected to screen at this year’s opening gala.

Turning heads: Bella Hadid on the 2016 Cannes red carpet
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Who will be walking the red carpet?

Robert Pattinson, Tilda Swinton, Nicole Kidman, Colin Farrell, Diane Kruger, Susan Sarandon, Lily Collins, Kristen Stewart, Naomie Harris, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ruth Wilson and Marion Cottilard are all set to walk the carpet.

But Cannes isn’t just for film industry insiders as a host of stars from across the entertainment industry and fashion world like to soak up the sun and pose for a photo or two on the Croisette.

This year’s rumoured attendees include Rihanna, Bella Hadid, Mary J Blige, Emily Ratajkowski and A$AP Rocky.

What are the best parties?

Aside from the screenings, the best Cannes parties include the glitzy annual AmFAR gala at the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc and the Chopard party, co-hosted this year by Rihanna.

Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini launches his new rooftop restaurant during the festival, while a big party to celebrate the festival’s 70th birthday will take place at the Grand Theatre Lumiere.

When is it?

This year’s Cannes Film Festival takes place from May 17-28.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in