‘Arctic’, Joe Penna’s Directorial Debut, Named To Official Cannes Lineup

Joe Penna’s directorial debut is set to premiere with aplomb. The YouTube creator is set to screen Arctic at this year’s Cannes Film Festival as part of the ‘Official Selection’ lineup.

Penna’s Arctic will be one of the festival’s ‘Midnight Screenings’. And the 30-year-old is in good company at this year’s festival, which will also feature films by Spike Lee (BlacKkKlasman), Jean-Luc Godard (The Picture Book), and Ron Howard (Solo: A Star Wars Story). While Arctic, which was announced almost exactly a year ago, isn’t competing for the coveted Palme D’Or, its inclusion marks a coup for Penna, who rose to fame on YouTube with a unique blend of animation, stop motion, visual effects, and music. Arctic will also be sold at Cannes — which kicks off on May 8 — by XYZ Films.

Arctic is about a man (Mads Mikkelsen) stranded in the Arctic who must decide whether to remain in his camp or embark on a deadly trek. The film was written by Penna and Ryan Morrison, and was produced by Armory Films, Union Entertainment Group, and Pegasus Pictures.

“This was by far the most difficult shoot I’ve ever done,” Mikkelsen told Variety last year, “which is saying a lot because I’ve done a lot of crazy stuff in my life. We had the nature, the wind, the snow, the cold; we had long hours of shooting and I was in every scene. It was brutal, not just physically but emotionally too — I was always on the edge emotionally.”