Topic Of The Day: Cannes 2016 Lineup Unveiled

The main lineup from the 2016 Cannes Film Festival has officially been announced and I must say, they have some very intriguing options. The ones that I have hoped to compete are competing and there are some slightly surprising exclusions. Let's take a look:

Competition"Toni Erdman," directed by Maren Ade
"Julieta," directed by Pedro Almodovar
"Personal Shopper," directed by Olivier Assayas
"American Honey," directed by Andrea Arnold
"The Unknown Girl," directed by Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne
"It's Only the End of the World," directed by Xavier Dolan
"Slack Bay," directed by Bruno Dumont
"Paterson," directed by Jim Jarmusch
"Rester Vertical," directed by Alain Guiraudie
"Aquarius," directed by Kleber Mendonca Filho
"From the Land of the Moon," directed by Nicole Garcia
"I, Daniel Blake," directed by Ken Loach
"Ma'Rosa," directed by Brillante Mendoza
"Bacalaureat," directed by Cristian Mungiu
"Loving," directed by Jeff Nichols
"The Handmaiden," directed by Park Chan-Wook
"The Last Face," directed by Sean Penn
"Sieranevada," directed by Cristi Puiu
"Elle," directed by Paul Verhoeven
"The Neon Demon," directed by Nicolas Winding Refn

Now the ones that I was really hoping for were It's Only The End Of The World, American Honey, Personal Shopper, and Neon Demon. Thankfully, they are all to be found here. Some inclusions that I wasn't too surprised about were the films by Pedro Almodovar, Sean Penn, the Dardenne Brothers, and Jim Jarmusch. They are all Cannes regulars. 

But one thing that is slightly unfortunate is how there are only three films directed by women: American Honey by Andrea Arnold, From The Land Of The Moon by Nicole Garcia, and Toni Erdman by Maren Ade. But for what it's worth, there are still plenty of stories about women like The Last Face, Neon Demon, The Unknown Girl, Julieta, The Handmaiden, and Elle. Also, they have three films directed by openly gay men: Xavier Dolan, Pedro Almodovar, and Alain Guiraudie. So despite there not being much females represented in the main competition, there is still plenty of diversity to be found. 

I was also pleased to see Loving make the cut. After seeing both Midnight Special and Take Shelter, I've become more anxious about the next moves of director Jeff Nichols. So I'm really looking forward to this one. 

However, I figured that Eternity by Tran Anh Hung and starring Berenice Bejo, Audrey Tautou, and Melanie Laurent would make it in given the French acting pedigree. Also, no The Day They Arrived (previously titled Story Of Your Life) by Denis Villeneuve or Silence by Martin Scorsese. But I'm guessing those films weren't 100% ready. 

What do you guys think of the Cannes lineup? Are you as pleased as I am and what films did you hope to see make the cut? Please be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments section. Thanks for reading!