The prolific French director and screenwriter Quentin Dupieux’s latest film, “The Second Act,” will open the forthcoming Cannes Film Festival. The film will be presented Out of Competition as a world premiere on the Croisette on Tuesday, May 14th. The four-part comedy film will be released in all French cinemas on the same day. The plot synopsis states Florence wants to introduce David, the man she’s madly in love with, to her father, Guillaume. But David isn’t attracted to Florence and wants to throw her into the arms of his friend Willy. The four characters meet in a restaurant in the middle of nowhere.
The press release from Cannes stated the following:
To launch the festivities of the 77th edition, a daring and unpredictable artist will stride the red carpet at the Grand Théâtre Lumière, surrounded by his entire team.
A filmmaker who embraces freedom – in tone, form, and subject – Quentin Dupieux has freed himself from convention through an already extensive body of work (13 feature films in 17 years), establishing the absurd as a genre in its own right and shaking up all the others – of which “The Second Act” is a perfect case in point!
A road movie set against a backdrop of plastic surgery (Steak), a killer tire (Rubber), cops without crime (Wrong Cops), a director in search of the best scream (Reality), a giant fly trained by thugs (Mandibles), a cellar with time-space powers (Incredible but True)…
Like previous ones, “The Second Act” shows itself to be a new mise en abyme around acting – already one of the central themes of “Yannick” and “Daaaaaali!” The cast is as prestigious as it is unexpected: Léa Seydoux, Vincent Lindon, and Louis Garrel enter Quentin Dupieux’s zany universe for the first time, while Raphaël Quenard returns for the fourth time after “Mandibles,” “Smoking Causes Coughing” and “Yannick.” The red carpet promises to be magnificent. They’ll be joining some of the brightest stars of contemporary French cinema who are part of the Dupieux constellation, including Alain Chabat, Benoît Poelvoorde, Jean Dujardin, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Léa Drucker, Benoît Magimel, Anaïs Demoustier, Vincent Lacoste, Gilles Lellouche, Édouard Baer, and Pio Marmaï.
“The Second Act” follows “Smoking Causes Coughing,” presented in 2022 in the Official Selection, Out of Competition.
The Opening Ceremony of the 77th Festival de Cannes will be broadcast live on France Télévisions and Brut on Tuesday, May 14th. Camille Cottin will serve as Master of Ceremony.
Numerous cinemas in France will screen the ceremony and the opening film with the support of the Fédération Nationale des Cinémas Français (FNCF) and in partnership with France Télévisions and Brut.
The Official Selection will be announced on Thursday, April 11th, 2024.
Are you excited for the 2024 Cannes Film Festival? What do you think of this announcement for the Opening Night Film? Are you planning to attend the festival this year? Which films are you hoping will be announced for this year’s lineup? Please let us know in the comments section below or on our Twitter account.
