(Cannes) Final preparations before the deluge of films, stars and glitter: on the eve of the opening of 75and Cannes Film Festival, the Croisette has begun to see thousands of festival-goers flocking to a film festival where Ukraine will be a must.
Posted at 10:18 a.m.
Updated at 12:17 p.m.
“We are all going to make a big festival together, we are going to think a lot about cinema, but without ever stopping to think about Ukraine”, assured Thierry Frémaux, general delegate of the festival, during a press conference.
Outside the Palace, in the summer heat, aficionados, equipped with stepladders, have already taken their places in front of the steps – which will only be covered with the red carpet on Tuesday – so as not to miss anything from the parade of stars.
In total, more than 35,000 moviegoers and professionals are expected in the seaside town of the Côte d’Azur. In an atmosphere swinging between stars, cream of auteur cinema and echoes of the war in Ukraine through several selected films.
Few Russian professionals, on the other hand, are expected, the Festival having announced since the invasion of Ukraine that it would not welcome official “delegations” or structures linked to the government.
While the competition will begin on Wednesday with the latest film by Kirill Serebrennikov, who has become a symbol of Russian artists breaking with the regime, Mr. Frémaux assured that he wanted to “share things” and support “Russians who take risks to resist” while displaying “absolute and non-negotiable support for the Ukrainian people”.
Ukraine still: last week the Festival added to the selection the posthumous film by Lithuanian director Mantas Kvedaravičius, who was killed in early April in Mariupol.
“In a climate of fear, laughing does not seem rude to me”, assured for her part the Belgian actress Virginie Efira, mistress of the opening ceremony of the festival, during a press briefing, decided to “resonate with opposing energies. […].
Great return of the Americans
Starring in two films in the selection, the actress had known Cannes as a teenager, looking for funding for a friend’s film, then as a presenter for Belgian television: “I have a lot of experience of loose in Cannes,” she smiled. But Tuesday evening, it is cinema “which upsets a place in your heart” of which she will speak, the one to which she owes “a certain appetite for existence”.
In Cannes, the page of COVID-19, which forced the cancellation in 2020 and a 2021 edition postponed to July, seems turned: the Festival has returned to its usual dates and there will be neither compulsory masks nor health pass, even if all the “controllers will wear the mask, to reassure”, indicated Mr. Frémaux.
It is also the great return of the Americans, including the star Tom Cruise, for Top Gun: Maverick. Quite a symbol for this edition which marks the return of the party to Cannes.
One of the first international stars to climb the steps will be actor Forest Whitaker (ghost dog, The Last King of Scotland). An honorary Palme d’or will be awarded to him during the opening ceremony.
Then many other stars will follow: Kristen Stewart, who will climb the steps alongside Léa Seydoux and Viggo Mortensen for David Cronenberg’s latest film, or even the promising Austin Butler and the veteran Tom Hanks, alias Elvis and his manager in a biopic event.
On the competition side, 21 films — and 5 female directors — are in the running to succeed TitaniumGore and uncompromising Palme d’Or from the Frenchwoman Julia Ducournau, 2and crowned director in the history of the Festival. They will be decided by a jury chaired by the Frenchman Vincent Lindon, who succeeds Spike Lee.
“Last year, all the Cannes prizes were won by female directors,” underlined Thierry Frémaux, in the face of criticism deploring the few women in the official selection. “We have 25% of women who applied for the selection, and 25% of women selected”, he put forward, recalling that in Cannes “there is no quota”.
Among the filmmakers expected, David Cronenberg (Crash) promises once again to shake the public with The crimes of the futurePark Chan-wook (old boy) returns with a sulphurous investigation (Decision to leave), and James Gray presents Armageddon Timestarring Anthony Hopkins and Anne Hathaway.
Several already crowned filmmakers are in the running, including the Dardenne brothers (Rosetta) with Tori and LokitaRuben Östlund, the grittiest of Swedish filmmakers (The Square), with Without filteror Japanese Kore-eda (A family matter), which this time turned broker with the South Korean star of ParasiteSong Kang-ho.