Xavier Dolan in official competition for Cannes Film Festival
Montreal director, 27, will have a 2nd chance to win the Palme d'or with Juste la fin du monde
Quebec director Xavier Dolan's new film Juste la fin du monde (It's Only the End of the World) is officially in the running for the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival.
Festival organizers unveiled the complete lineup early Thursday.
It will be the 27-year-old filmmaker, writer and actor's second chance to win the Palme d'Or. In 2014, Dolan took home the festival's Jury Prize for his critically acclaimed film Mommy, which was also up for the Palme d'Or.
"I'm so proud to bring It's Only the End of the World to Cannes. The film being an adaptation of a French play, and starring French actors, it's all the more exciting to present it on French soil within the context of this competition, and in the best conditions possible for a filmmaker," Dolan said in a statement.
"Every time people mention Cannes, they bring up the champagne-flooded parties, endless PR, and other glittery, cheap thrills for limited imaginations. But what truly happens over there are new friendships and encounters, and the inimitable feeling you get from having a film projected in that mythical theatre, hearing everyone breathe with you, laugh with you, cry with you. I'm so thrilled to be invited to Cannes again in this capacity...It will definitely be invigorating."
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The Canada-France co-production is based on a play by Jean-Luc Lagarce of the same name. It centres on a writer who returns to his hometown, planning to announce his upcoming death to his family. The star-studded cast includes Nathalie Baye, Vincent Cassel, Marion Cotillard, Léa Seydoux and Gaspard Ulliel.
Juste la fin du monde is the fifth Dolan film selected for the Cannes Film Festival and his sixth film overall.
The Cannes Film Festival runs May 11-22, with Woody Allen's Cafe Society selected as the opening film.
Dolan stands alongside a host of prominent filmmakers also selected for the official competition, include Ken Loach, Pedro Almodovar, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Sean Penn, Jim Jarmusch, Nicolas Winding Refn, Paul Verhoeven and Cristian Mungiu.
It's Only the End of the World is slated to open in theatres in Quebec and France on Sept. 21.
With files from the Canadian Press