Anthony Vaccarello‘s film production banner for the French house, Saint Laurent Productions, has a trio of films premiering at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. A registered subsidiary of the house of Saint Laurent, it marks the fashion house’s first foray into full-fledged feature production. Led and envisioned by Vaccarello, the creative director aims to use film to further expand the cinematic breadth of his collections.
Premiering first of the trio of films on May 18 is Emilia Perez directed by Jacques Audiard. With a cast that includes Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, Edgar Ramirez and Adriana Paz. Co-produced with A Why Not Productions and Page 114, the official synopsis for the film reads, “Overqualified and undervalued, Rita is a lawyer at a large firm that is more interested in getting criminals off the hook than bringing them to justice. One day, she is given an unexpected way out, when cartel leader Manitas hires her to help him withdraw from his business and realize a plan he has been secretly preparing for years: to become the woman he has always dreamt of being.”
The Shrouds directed by David Cronenberg arrives second at the festival on May 20 and follows a 50-year-old prominent businessman named Karsh. The synopsis reads, “Inconsolable since the death of his wife, he invents GraveTech, revolutionary and controversial technology that enables the living to monitor their dear departed in their shrouds. One night, multiple graves, including that of Karsh’s wife, are desecrated. Karsh sets out to track down the perpetrators.” Diane Kruger stars alongside Guy Pearce, Vincent Cassel and Sandrine Holt.
The final film, Parthenope directed by Paolo Sorrentino, premieres on May 21. It features a big cast that consists of Dario Aita, Celeste Dalla Porta, Silvia Degrandi, Isabella Ferrari, Lorenzo Gleijeses, Biagio Izzo, Marlon Joubert, Peppe Lanzetta, Nello Mascia, Gary Oldman, Silvio Orlando, Luisa Ranieri, Daniele Rienzo, Stefania Sandrelli and Alfonso Santagata. Produced by The Apartment Pictures, the film is branded as a feminine epic and follows the journey of Parthenope’s life from her birth in 1950 until the present day. The logline reads, “A feminine epic, devoid of heroism but brimming with an inexorable passion for freedom, Naples, and the faces of love—all those true, pointless, and unspeakable loves. The perfect Capri summer, the lightheartedness of youth. Which ends in ambush. And then all the others—the Neapolitans, men and women, observed and loved, disillusioned and vital, their waves of melancholy, their tragic ironies and dejected glances. Life, be it ordinary or memorable, knows how to be very long. The passing of time offers up a vast repertoire of emotions. And there in the background, so close and so very far, is Naples, this ineffable city that bewitches, enchants, screams, laughs, and always knows how to hurt you.”
The 2024 Cannes Film Festival runs from May 14 to May 25.
