Festival de Cannes is an invitation-only annual film festival showcasing new films from all over the world. Fremantle had a record number of five films from three of its production companies celebrating their world premieres at the 77th edition, which took place from 14 to 25 May 2024. From these five productions, two films from Element Pictures were honoured with awards: Rungano Nyoni won Best Director for On Becoming a Guinea Fowl in the 'Un Certain Regard' section and Jesse Plemons won Best Actor for Kinds of Kindness in the main competition.

Comedy drama On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, which is the second film from writer and director Rungano Nyoni, is described as “a surreal and vibrant reckoning with the lies we tell ourselves”. In the film, Shula stumbles across the body of her uncle on an empty road in the middle of the night. As funeral proceedings begin, she and her cousins bring to light the buried secrets of their middle-class Zambian family. The film is produced by Element Pictures, which is majority-owned by Fremantle, and backed by Fremantle, BBC Film and A24.

Kinds of Kindness is an absurdist dark comedy produced by Element Pictures in partnership with Film 4 and TSG Entertainment. The film is directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, the Greek filmmaker behind the hugely successful Poor Things, which won four Oscars alongside multiple other awards. Just like Poor Things, Kinds of Kindness also stars Emma Stone – but it was actor Jesse Plemons who was recognised at Cannes. The film is a “triptych fable” consisting of three distinct but loosely connected stories: a man who tries to take control of his own life; a policeman who is alarmed when his missing-at-sea wife returns with a new personality; and a woman determined to find a specific someone destined to become a prodigious spiritual leader.

David di Donatello Awards

Fremantle also celebrated success at the recent David di Donatello Awards – the “Italian Oscars” – which honours primarily Italian productions across 26 different categories. From a total of 26 nominations, Fremantle won seven awards at the 69th edition, which took place on 3 May 2024. C'è ancora domani (There's Still Tomorrow), produced by Wildside, won six awards: Best Original Screenplay, Best Directorial Debut, Best Actress for Paola Cortellesi, Best Supporting Actress for Emanuela Fanelli, the David Giovani Award and the Audience Award. The film was Italy’s most-watched film in 2023 and sparked debates on domestic and gender violence on its release. Italian band Subsonia were also awarded Best Composer at the David di Donatello Awards for their work on Adagio from The Apartment.