See the Full Lineup For the 2022 Cannes Film Festival

The Cannes Film Festival is back. The 75th edition announcement poster pays homage to The Truman Show, the iconic '90s film starring Jim Carrey directed by Peter Weir. Against a background of a blue sky, with the number 75 in the center, Carrey climbs a ladder, a metaphor that represents "a poetic celebration of the unsurpassed search for expression and freedom. A journey upwards to contemplate the past and move forward towards the promise of an awakening." It is with this background that the new director of the Festival: Thierry Fremaux and president Pierre Lescure, have finally announced the eighteen films in competition.

Among the favorites are Nostalgia by Mario Martone, based on the novel by Ermanno Rea, shot in the Sanità district of Naples with Pierfrancesco Favino and Francesco Di Leva. Another is Les Amandiers by Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, a French production set in the 1980s in Paris at Patrick Chereau's theater school, starring the director's ex-partner, Louis Garrel.

The Cannes Film Festival also added a number of new titles to its official selection, including three films in competition: Léonor Serraille's Un Petit Frère, Albert Serra's Tourment sur les îles, and Felix Van Groeningen's The Eight Mountains. The Eight Mountains is an Italian film based on the 2016 novel by Paolo Cognetti. It revolves around a young man who finds refuge in the Italian village where he spent a summer as a child with his parents.

Other films that have been added to the lineup include Serge Bozon's romantic musical comedy Don Juan with Virginie Efira and Tahar Rahim; the political drama Nuit du 12 brought to life Dominik Moll; and Emmanuel Mouret's adultery drama Chronique d'une liaison passagère with Sandrine Kiberlain and Vincent Macaigne, which will be part of the Premiere section, a new category launched last year. Also competing in the Cannes Premiere section is Marco Bellocchio's Italian TV series, Exterior Night, based on the kidnapping of Aldo Moro with Fabrizio Gifuni.   

Other films competing for the Palme d'Or are Armageddon Time by James Gray with Anne Hathaway and Anthony Hopkins, as well as Kristen Stewart and Viggo Mortensen's new David Cronenberg project Crimes of the Future.

The jury of the 2022 Cannes Film Festival is expected to be announced in the coming days, surprisingly late compared to previous years. Director Thierry Fremaux said assembling the team was challenging this year due to the pandemic. Among the big names that have been approached are Brad Pitt and Penelope Cruz. Spike Lee chaired last year's jury, suggesting the group hand-picked this year will be impeccable. 

Michel Hazanavicius, Oscar winner for The Artist, will open the festival with his film Final Cut, an authentic metacinema that shows the events on the set of a low-budget zombie film.

Final Cut will be followed by Top Gun: Maverick with the return of Tom Cruise, and Elvis by Baz Luhrmann with Tom Hanks and the new star Austin Butler. However, some of the most anticipated Italian titles of the year are missing, such as Bones & All by Luca Guadagnino and L'envol by Pietro Marcello.