'Pretend I'm Not Here' Heading to the 2025 Cannes Market

When they hear the phrase "Cannes Film Festival," most people picture A-list celebrities on red carpets and images of celebrity arrivals by boat to the premieres of films that may be considered for awards season in the fall. But there are actually two halves to the event: The Festival du Cannes, which is the competition screenings, the A-listers, the red carpet, the arrivals, the works. Then there is the Marché du Film, known colloquially as the Cannes Market. This is a very different competition where projects in need of funding and distributors are presented to investors. Some of them are already completed and just need a distributor, some are prepping to roll cameras, and this is the last-ditch effort to bring people on board.

This year, among the films from the U.K. set to sell themselves come mid-May 2025, are Lily James' Photo Booth, Sally Hawkins' Pretend I'm Not Here, Marisa Abela's The Return of Stanley Atwell, and Werner Herzog's Bucking Fastard.

Covering the Cannes Market is no easy task, especially in the final days, as projects seem to crop up like mushrooms after rain. I want to emphasize: Half of the projects reportedly on the "Hot Ones" list never get made. Some are obviously super pie-in-the-sky stuff, vanity packages to make a star or director feel good, and can be tossed into the rubbish bin of failed dreams. (A five-film cycle with zero scripts written and no stars attached? Total vanity stuff.) Some are great ideas, but no one wants to invest in them, leaving the producers to find a different way to make their film. (Riz Ahmed's Hamlet comes to mind, but despite getting made and landing distribution, it still hasn't come out.)