The 2013 Cannes Film Festival is just around the corner so we thought we would bring you our most anticipated films that will be playing this year. Because a lot of the films at the festival will be making their world-wide premiere, most of the films do not have a trailer to go by just yet. Therefore, making our picks of the most anticipated films strikes an interesting challenge. There will be hidden gems at Cannes that will come out of nowhere, but here are the films we look forward to the most. Stick around Way Too Indie as we will be attending the festival this year and providing you coverage.

Most Anticipated Films At 2013 Cannes

The Bling Ring

Sofia Coopla’s latest offering, The Bling Ring, has gathered a lot of attention and rightfully so. Most of that attention has likely come from having the beloved Emma Watson “going wild” so to speak, playing a character who is not completely likeable. The Bling Ring is based upon actual events of a group of Hollywood obsessed teenagers who break into the homes of celebrities and steal their possessions. If it ends up being as wacky and ridiculous as it seems, The Bling Ring could be a wildly fun ride. [Dustin]

La grande bellezza (The Great Beauty)

Is it really a surprise that the director of WTI’s favourite film of 2012 is on this list? For those of us who loved This Must Be The Place, we can’t wait for what Paolo Sorrentino has in store next. Teaming up again with Toni Servillo, who was fantastic in Sorrentino’s previous film Il Divo, The Great Beauty is relatively light on plot details right now. What’s known is that Servillo plays Jep Gambardella, a 65 year old writer whose personal dramas make up the film. It seems like anything more specific than that will be saved for later, but there’s a trailer that might be helpful for those who speak Italian and/or French. Whether or not Sorrentino can deliver another great film remains to be seen, but either way we’ll surely be checking out The Great Beauty ASAP if we get the chance. [CJ]

Only God Forgives

I initially wanted to just type: “Refn. Gosling. Drive. Enough said.” for my reasoning to see this, but I am asked to give more. 2 years ago Nicolas Winding-Refn took Cannes (and many other film festivals worldwide) by storm with this violent, bright, pop filled, bubble gum popping, Los Angeles based crime thriller that featured Ryan Gosling as a nameless hero tasked with taking on a bunch of ruthless gangsters who happen to mess with the wrong stunt driver. Refn snagged the Best Director prize and Gosling went on to movie stardom. Now in Only God Forgives they’re back, together, with….you guessed it. A violent, but beautifully shot, crime film set in Bangkok. Gosling is asked by his mother (Kristin Scott Thomas, primed for an Oscar nomination) to kill the man who murdered his brother. This film looks to be BRUTAL. But Gosling and Refn are more than up to the challenge. This is shaping up to be one of the most popular films at the fest. Keep an eye out for this one. [Blake]

Fruitvale Station

Every year the Cannes Film Festival brings in one or two of the most talked about titles that played at the Sundance Film Festival back in January to make their international premiere debut. Fruitvale Station (formerly titled Fruitvale) impressed more than just the audience and the critics as the Weinstein Company snatched up the rights during the festival. Fruitvale Station takes place on the last day of Oscar Grant’s life, observing all the encounters he came across on his final day. First time filmmaker Ryan Coogler could be a name to remember if the initial responses of the film hold true. [Dustin]

Wara No Tate (Shield of Straw)

Takashi Miike has had quite the journey. He first established himself in the J-horror craze with shockers like Audition and Ichi The Killer, but over the years he’s shown how versatile and talented he truly is. From kid’s movies (Zebraman) to getting banned from TV (Imprint), Miike has covered plenty of genres while maintaining an output of at least two films a year (he released 3 movies last year, including a musical and a video game adaptation). The downside to Miike’s berserk work schedule is that his films may be hit or miss, but Wara No Tate sounds like a hit if done right. A billionaire offers a massive reward for the murder of his granddaughter’s (supposed) killer. The billionaire’s target immediately hands himself over to the police, and as they transport him across the country back to Tokyo a number of assassins try to claim the billionaire’s reward. Miike hasn’t made anything as good as 13 Assassins, one of his best films and a soon to be classic of the samurai genre, but this material sounds like a perfect fit for him. [CJ]

Jodorowsky’s Dune

Alejandro Jodorowsky is one of the most original, surreal, fantastical directors to ever grace a movie screen. Dune by Frank Herbert is considered one of the best (if not the best) Science Fiction novel ever written and many fans deem it un-filmable. David Lynch tried in the 80’s and was a critical and box office failure. Now comes this documentary on the Chilean director’s ambitious attempt to film the impossible. This will surely be a wild ride as the filmmakers have a plethora of material to work with. From the massive preparation the director and his team did to interviews with online film critics and Hollywood directors who love the director, this could be a nice surprise in the wealth of films being presented at the festival this year. [Blake]

Inside Llewyn Davis

The Coen Brothers are no strangers to the Cannes Film Festival. Inside Llewyn Davis will mark an impressive ninth visit to the film festival along the French Riviera for the brother duo. Not only does the trailer make the story of following a folk songwriter set in New York in the 1960s look interesting, it should naturally have a great soundtrack as well. CBS Films bought up the U.S. rights to Inside Llewyn Davis which may cast a small shadow of doubt considering their past track record of releases, however, this is a Coen Brothers film we are talking about. They are highly respected filmmakers that hold themselves to a certain standard, right? [Dustin]

Blind Detective

It seems that most of the films I want to see are playing outside of competition. Johnnie To, for those who don’t know, is one of the best genre directors working today. Using his production company Milkyway Image along with his usual collaborators (including his co-writer and sometimes co-director Wai Ka-Fai), To has created terrific films that range from romantic comedies to supernatural detective stories. After a detour with some romantic comedies and Life Without Principle, a drama centered around the recent worldwide financial crisis, To is back in action mode. Blind Detective follows, naturally, a former detective who left the force after losing his sight while on duty. Now spending his time helping cops solve cold cases, a young up and coming detective asks him to help her find her missing childhood friend. The plot may sound contrived, but Johnnie To is one of the best when it comes to making these stories feel fresh and exciting. Hopefully Blind Detective will be able to sit alongside Mad Detective, the Election films and Exiled among To’s best work. [CJ]

Nebraska

Alexander Payne is probably one of my favorite contemporary filmmakers. Sideways was an instant classic (not to mention one of my favorite films period) and The Descendants two years ago was a great family drama in the same vein. Not to mention films like About Schmidt and Election in his repertoire as well. His newest film concerns an aging, near alcoholic man who teams up with his long estranged son to embark on a trip from Montana to Nebraska to claim a lottery ticket that is worth millions. Sounds minimal from the outset, but like all Payne efforts, this will probably have multiple layers to it. [Blake]

The wait is now over as the lineup for the 2013 Cannes Film Festival has been announced this morning. While a few film festivals such as Sundance and Berlin have already given us a small taste of what is in store for 2013, Cannes ultimately sets the stage for what is to come for the rest of the year’s festival circuit. Also, it is my pleasure to announce that Way Too Indie has been accredited to attend the festival this year, so stay tuned during May 15th through May 26th while we bring you up-to-date coverage during the Cannes Film Festival.

Now back to the lineup, it has been known for quite some time that The Great Gatsby would be the opening film of the festival and yesterday it was announced that Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring would open the Un Certain Regard program. This morning the rest of the lineup for the Cannes Film Festival was finally announced. Some of the more anticipated films that were announced today were; Coen Brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis, Nicolas Winding Refn’s Only God Forgives, Steven Soderbergh’s Behind The Candelabra, Paolo Sorrentino’s The Great Beauty, and Sundance standout Fruitvale Station previously entitled just Fruitvale.

Unfortunately, absent from the announcement was Steve McQueen’s follow-up to Shame, Twelve Years a Slave. There was also no works from the onslaught of projects Terrence Malick has going on. And many people were disappointed to hear that Bong Joon-Ho’s rumored to play film, Snowpiercer, would not be done in time for the festival.

The full lineup for 2013 Cannes Film Festival:

The Great Gatsby (director Baz Luhrmann)

Behind The Candelabra (director Steven Soderbergh)
Borgman (director Alex Van Warmerdam)
Un Chateau En Italie (director Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi)
The Great Beauty (director Paolo Sorrentino)
Grisgris (director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun)
Heli (director Amat Escalante)
The Immigrant (director James Gray)
Inside Llewyn Davis (directors Joel & Ethan Coen)
Jeune Et Jolie (director Francois Ozon)
Jimmy P (director Arnaud Desplechin)
Michael Kohlhaas (director Arnaud Despallieres)
Nebraska (director Alexander Payne)
Only God Forgives (director Nicolas Winding Refn)
Only Lovers Left Alive (director Jim Jarmusch)
The Past (director Asghar Farhadi)
Like Father, Like Son (director Hirokazu Kore-eda)
A Touch Of Sin (director Zhangke Jia)
Venus In Fur (director Roman Polanski)
La Vie D’Adele (director Abdellatif Kechiche)
Shield of Straw (director Takashi Miike)

All Is Lost (director J.C Chandor)
Blood Ties (director Guillaume Canet)
The Last of the Unjust (director Claude Lanzmann)

Anonymous (director Mohammad Rasoulof)
As I Lay Dying (director James Franco)
Nothing Bad Can Happen (director Katrin Gebbe)
Bends (director Flora Lau)
The Bling Ring (director Sofia Coppola)
Death March (director Adolfo Alix Jr)
Fruitvale Station (director Ryan Coogler)
Grand Central (director Rebecca Zlotowski)
L’Image Manquante (Rithy Panh)
L’Inconnu Du Lac (director Alain Guiraudie)
La Jaula De Oro (director Diego Quemada)
Miele (director Valeria Golino)
My Sweet Pepperland (director Hiner Saleem)
Norte, The End of History (director Lav Diaz)
Omar (director Hany Abu-Assad)
The Bastards (director Claire Denis)
Sarah Would Rather Run (director Chloe Robichaud)
Wakolda (director Lucia Puenzo)

Max Rose (director Daniel Noah)
Weekend Of A Champion (director Roman Polanski)
Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight (director Stephen Frears)
Stop The Pounding Heart (director Roberto Minervini)
Seduced & Abandoned (director James Toback)
Otdat Konci (director Taisia Igumentseva)
Bombay Talkies (directors Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar, Karan Johar)

Zulu (director Jérôme Salle)

Above the Hill (director Raphael Nadjari)
Até ver a luz (director Basil da Cunha)
Blue Ruin (director Jeremy Saulnier)
The Summer of Flying Fish (director Marcela Said)
Henri (director Yolande Moreau)
Ilo ilo (director Anthony Chen)
Jodorowsky’s Dune (director Frank Pavich)
L’Escale (director Kaveh Bakhtiari)
The Dance of Reality (director Alejandro Jodorowsky)
The Rendez-Vous of Déjà-Vu (director Antonin Peretjatko)
Les Apaches (director Thierry de Peretti)
Me Myself and Mum (director Guillaume Gallienne)
Magic Magic (director Sebastián Silva)
On the Job (director Erik Matti)
The Congress (director Ari Folman)
The Last Days on Mars (director Ruairí Robinson)
The Selfish Giant (director Clio Barnard)
Tip Top (director Serge Bozon)
Ugly (director Anurag Kashyap)
Ain’t Misbehavin (director Marcel Ophuls)
We Are What We Are (director Jim Mickle)

Suzanne (director Katell Quillévéré)
Ain’t Them Bodies Saints (director David Lowery)
You and The Night (director Yann Gonzalez)
The Dismantlement (director Sébastien Pilote)
Los Dueños (directors Agustín Toscano & Ezequiel Radusk)
For Those in Peril (director Paul Wright)
The Lunchbox (director Ritesh Batra)
The Major (director Yury Bykov)
Nos héros sont morts ce soir (director David Perrault)
Salvo (directors Fabio Grassadonia & Antonio Piazza)