Sofia Coppola has been coming to Cannes since she was a child, accompanying her father when he debuted “Apocalypse Now.” This year, she will premiere one of the most anticipated films there, “The Beguiled,” her fourth at Cannes and second in competition.
“It’s still a place that’s celebrating and loves international cinema, and the idea of cinema,” said Coppola. “I feel like that’s at the heart of it.”
Cannes has often come under criticism for a lack of female directors — not to mention occasionally turning away women without high heels from red-carpet premieres. There are 12 female-directed films among the 54 official selections this year, including three in competition. (The other two are Lynne Ramsay’s “You Were Never Really Here,” with Joaquin Phoenix, and Naomi Kawese’s “Radiance.”)
“I guess there’s three instead of two this year,” said Coppola. “I think they have more there than we do here. There’s always been more of a tradition of female filmmakers in France and internationally.”
Coppola’s film is its own kind of correction. It’s a remake of Don Siegel’s 1971 Civil War drama about a Union soldier (Clint Eastwood, who will also be at Cannes to teach a MasterClass) hiding out in a Southern girls school. Coppola wanted to flip the story to a female point of view.
Like many other filmmakers, Coppola was racing last week to put the final touches on her film before the festival. But Inarritu was arriving in Cannes days early to finish building the space for his “CARNE y ARENA (Virtually Present, Physically Invisible),” a three-part installation about immigrants and refugees.
“I’m very curious to see how people from cinema will react to this,” said Inarritu. “It’s an individual experience. It’s one-by-one and it’s six minutes-and-a-half. This is not a community experience. That will give the festival something extraordinary to experience and see what people think about it.”

Source: Arab News