Coppola’s highly anticipated, self-funded epic feature Megalopolis gets world premiere at Cannes Fest.

The film will screen in competition at the festival on May 17 in a gala premiere at the 77th annual festival.

The project follows the rebuilding of a metropolis after its accidental destruction, with two competing visions — one from an idealist architect (Adam Driver), the other from its pragmatist mayor (Giancarlo Esposito) — clashing during the process. Shia LaBeouf, Laurence Fishburne and Aubrey Plaza round out the cast.

The project, which Coppola first began writing in 1983, cost a reported $120 million to make. It was funded in part by the sale of a significant portion of his wine empire (estimated at over $500 million).

Recently, the film had screening for potential buyers, with Universal’s Donna Langley, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos and Sony’s Tom Rothman in attendance at Universal CityWalk.

It is still seeking distribution, but the filmmaker has noted his desire for Imax release.

Coppola had brought another of his fraught features, Apocalypse Now, to the festival, in 1979. Winning the Palme d’or, Cannes became the first stop on a long journey to critical acclaim and commercial success.

Megalopolis joins titles like Kevin Costner’s Horizon, another self-funded epic, and George Miller’s Mad Max title Furiosa.

The rest of the Cannes line-up will be announced on April 11.