Cannes Festival Adds ‘Black Flies’ With Sean Penn to 2023’s Official Selection

Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire’s “Black Flies,” starring Sean Penn has been added to the competition lineup of the upcoming 76th Cannes Film Festival. As many as 13 movies have been peppered across several sections, including the Competition, Special Screenings, Un Certain Regard, and Out of Competition.

Sauvaire’s paramedic thriller Black Flies also stars Tye Sheridan, Katherine Waterston, Michael Pitt and Mike Tyson. An adaptation of the novel by Shannon Burke, the story is set in the high-wire world of New York City paramedics and takes a look at the toll the job inflicts on their lives.

Sheridan is playing a first-year medic who hits the streets driving an ambulance with a grizzled vet, played by Penn. Choices they make will take them in opposite directions, as the newbie finds his desire to help people challenged to the breaking point. Burke, Ben Mac Brown and Ryan King wrote the script.

Open Road Films will release Black Flies theatrically and FilmNation Entertainment is handling international rights. Producers include Warren Goz and Eric Gold of Sculptor Media, Christopher Kopp and Lucan Toh, and Sheridan. Penn is also producing via his Projected Picture Works partners, John Ira Palmer and John Wildermuth.

Read the whole article on Variety.