Cannes Film Screenings - Sunday May 21

Battements Par Minute // Robin Campillo (In Competition – Feature Films)

8:30 – Grand Théâtre Lumière

15:00 – Grand Théâtre Lumière

 18:30 – Grand Théâtre Lumière

Early 1990s. With AIDS having already claimed countless lives for nearly ten years, Act up-Paris activists multiply actions to fight general indifference. 
Nathan, a newcomer to the group, has his world shaken up by Sean, a radical militant, who throws his last bits of strength into the struggle.

The Square // Ruben Östlund (In Competition – Feature Films)

11:30 – Grand Théâtre Lumière

14:00 – Soixantième Theatre

22:00 – Grand Théâtre Lumière

Christian is the respected curator of a contemporary art museum, a divorced but devoted father of two who drives an electric car and supports good causes. His next show is “The Square”, an installation which invites passersby to altruism, reminding them of their role as responsible fellow human beings. But sometimes, it is difficult to live up to your own ideals: Christian’s foolish response to the theft of his phone drags him into shameful situations. Meanwhile, the museum's PR agency has created an unexpected campaign for ”The Square”. The response is overblown and sends Christian, as well as the museum, into an existential crisis.

Lu Guo Wei Lai (Walking Past The Future) // Ruijun Li (Un Certain Regard)

11:30 – Un Certain Regard

For Yang Yaoting, a second generation migrant who works at a production line, hope is faint and the job is dehumanizing. Her parents came to this megacity 25 years ago from their agricultural background, hoping to leave behind a harsh reality for a land of dreams. But in a whirlwind that sweeps them off their feet, they realize that the ground they stand on is an illusion in the first place, and wonder if their dream is after all to be found with ploughs and sickles, underneath the very piece of land they left behind. They are harrowed to find, upon returning, that it has long forgotten them too. Feeling rootless, and in all her desperation to belong, Yaoting readies herself to sacrifice her life for the future of her family, just as they once sacrificed their future for her life.

Las Hijas De Abril (April’s Daughter) // Michael Franco (Un Certain Regard)

14:15 – Debussy Theatre

Valeria is 17 and pregnant. She lives in Puerto Vallarta with Clara, her half-sister. Valeria has not wanted her long-absent mother, April, to find out about her pregnancy, but due to the economic strain and the overwhelming responsibility of having a baby in the house, Clara decides to call their mother. April arrives, willing to help her daughters, but soon it will be clear why Valeria had kept her away.

Wind River // Tylor Sheridan (Un Certain Regard First Film)

10:00 – Debussy Theatre

WIND RIVER is a chilling thriller that follows a rookie FBI agent who teams up with a local game tracker with deep community ties and a haunted past to investigate the murder of a local girl on a remote Native American Reservation in the hopes of solving the mysterious death. Written and directed by Taylor Sheridan, WIND RIVER also stars Gil Birmingham, Jon Bernthal, Julia Jones, Kelsey Asbille, and James Jordan.

Le Venerable W. (The Venerable W.) // Barbet Schroeder (Special Screening)

19:00 – Soixanième Theatre

In Burma, the “Venerable Wirathu” is a highly influential Buddhist monk. Meeting him amounts to traveling to the heart of everyday racism and observing how Islamophobia and hate speech lead to violence and destruction. Yet this is a country in which 90% of the population has adopted Buddhism as a faith: a religion based on a peaceful, tolerant and non-violent way of life.

Promised Land // Eugene Jarecki (Special Screening)

19:15 – Buñuel Theatre

Set against the 2016 presidential election, PROMISED LAND takes a musical road trip across America in Elvis Presley's 1963 Rolls Royce. The mission, forty years after the singer's death, is to find the country he left behind – a nation that, like Elvis, started out young, beautiful, and promising, yet succumbed over time to the corrosive influences of addiction, money, and power.
PROMISED LAND paints a cultural portrait of the American dream at a critical time in the nation’s history. It explores, through music and verité, how a country boy lost his authenticity and became a “King,” while his country lost her democracy and became an empire.