CANNES 2019 Opening / Competition
Cannes to be opened by The Dead Don’t Die

by Fabien Lemercier, Cineuropa
10/04/2019

The film by US director Jim Jarmusch will raise the curtain on the 72nd Cannes Film Festival (14-25 May) and will be screened in competition.

The movie will come out in French theatres on the same day as it is presented at Cannes (the evening of 14 May), then in the USA on 14 June, followed by the rest of the world.

A highly original and indispensable figure in world cinema, US director Jim Jarmusch will shortly be heading back to the Croisette (where he rose to prominence with the Caméra d'Or he won for Stranger Than Paradise in 1984) and will be taking part in the official competition for the eighth time with his new opus, The Dead Don’t Die, which will also serve as the opening film of the 72nd edition of the Cannes Film Festival (14-25 May).



A US production staged by duo Joshua Astrachan and Carter Logan, and a Focus Features presentation (which is distributing it worldwide with Universal Pictures International, excluding Japan, where Longride is overseeing the release), The Dead Don’t Die boasts a truly top-notch cast, including Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Tilda Swinton, Chloë Sevigny, Steve Buscemi, Danny Glover, Caleb Landry Jones, Rosie Perez, Iggy Pop, Selena Gomez, RZA, Sara Driver, Austin Butler, Luka Sabbat, Eszter Balint, Carol Kane and Tom Waits.

The plot of this genre film certainly promises to get fans drooling with excitement: in the sleepy small town of Centerville, something is not quite right. The moon hangs large and low in the sky, the hours of daylight are becoming unpredictable, and animals are beginning to exhibit unusual behaviours. No one quite knows why. News reports are scary and scientists are concerned. But no one foresees the strangest and most dangerous repercussion that will soon start plaguing Centerville: The Dead Don’t Die – they rise from their graves and savagely attack and feast on the living, and the citizens of the town must battle for their survival.


Danny Glover, Bill Murray and Adam Driver in The Dead Don't Die

The movie will come out in French theatres on the same day as it is presented at Cannes (the evening of 14 May), then in the USA on 14 June, followed by the rest of the world.