Cannes 2023 is set to take place from May 16-27 and several Indian films will be screened at the prestigious film festival. Three films are also scheduled for their premiere at the French event.
One of the films that has created the most buzz is Anurag Kashyap's Kennedy. It has been chosen for the Midnight Screenings section at Cannes, revealed the official Twitter handle of the festival. "KENNEDY by Anurag KASHYAP #SeanceDeMinuit / #MidnightScreenings #Cannes2023."
The upcoming neo-noir thriller is written and directed by Kashyap and it stars Rahul Bhatt and Sunny Leone in lead roles. The plot follows an insomniac former police officer looking for salvation. He is presumed to be dead but is operating in secret for the corrupt system. "It's a film and genre I always wanted to explore. It's more polar than noir, inspired by the crime writing of Patrick Manchette and his comic book collaborations with Jacques Tardi, and the cinema of Melville," said Kashyap about Kennedy.
"It's also a deeply personal crime/police drama and am so grateful to Zee Studios, Shariq and team, Neeraj, Bhumika, my producers Ranjan, Kabir, and Kavan, my whole team, my partners in crime Sylver, Kazvin, Prashant who helped me shape it. Rahul Bhat who gave 8 months of his life, Sunny Leone who took on the challenge of it, Mohit Takalkar for taking it on...am just grateful at the moment," he added.
Another Hindi film that made the cut is Agra directed by Kanu Behl. It also marks the comeback of Rahul Roy and features Priyanka Bose, known for the Oscar-nominated film Lion. The story follows the sexual dynamics within a family and the dystopian fractures created in modern India.
The film will have its world premiere at the Directors' Fortnight section.
Manipuri filmmaker Aribam Syam Sharma's award-winning film of 1990 Ishanou has been officially chosen for a red carpet world premiere at the Cannes Classic section on May 19. The restored film is the only Indian film to be chosen for the prestigious section this year.
Ishanou is all about Manipuri culture and is loved for its vivid depiction of the Mibi culture. The Meitei language film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival. First aired in Doordarshan, the film has seen many international film festivals including the ones in Singapore, Tokyo, Toronto, London, Hawaii, Vancouver, Fribourg, Seattle, and Rotterdam.