Mohammad Rasoulof and Michel Hazanavicius take the steps for committed films

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The end of the Cannes Film Festival is approaching. The red carpet on Friday, May 24 was the last before the closing ceremony and the announcement of the winners on Saturday. The rise of the steps was very political with the return to Cannes of director Mohammad Rasoulof who fled Iran and the entry of Michel Hazanavicius into animation with a film on the Shoah.

Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof came to defend in person this Friday, May 24, in Cannes, his film in the running for the Palme d’Or, “The Seeds of the Wild Fig Tree”. This is his first public appearance after successfully fleeing the Tehran regime clandestinely. A great voice of Iranian cinema who has continued to defy censorship, Mohammad Rasoulof has not set foot in Cannes since 2017 and the Un Certain Regard prize for “A Man of Integrity”, which addressed the issue of corruption. His new film promises to further disturb those in power. Filmed clandestinely, the film follows an Iranian investigator, who has just been promoted to magistrate, and women from three different generations: his wife, their youngest daughter, a student, and the youngest, a teenager. On the red carpet, the director was accompanied by part of his team and theIranian actress Golshifteh Farahani.

In addition to “The Seeds of the Wild Fig Tree”, Greta Gerwig’s jury was also going to view, this Friday, May 24, the last of the 22 opuses in the competition, “The Most Precious of Commodities”, by Michel Hazanavicius (“The Artist”), un tragic tale of the Holocaust. Initially, the director did not want to take on this period of history which is not easy to tell and which particularly affects him since his family is affected. But he was moved by the work of Jean-Claude Grumberg, he then wanted to adapt it into an animated film. A way to discuss this subject differently and with distance. This is Michel Hazanivicius’ first foray into animation. “The Most Valuable Commodity” is the only animated film in the official competition. It’s been more than 15 years since it happened, with Ari Folman’s “Waltz with Bachir” in 2008.

Only part of the film crew "Wild fig tree seeds" of Mohammad Rasoulof, was able to leave Iran. This feature film tells the story of a magistrate, his wife and his two daughters, in an Iran plagued by demonstrations. It directly echoes the movement "Woman, life, freedom" which has shaken the Islamic Republic since September 2022. (SAMEER AL-DOUMY / AFP)

Michel Hazanavicius came to present, with the cast, his feature film "The most valuable commodity", the only animated film in the competition. A cruel tale where a baby is abandoned by his father on the train tracks to go to Auschwitz. A couple of lumberjacks will then recover it. (PASCAL LE SEGRETAIN / GETTY IMAGES EUROPE)

French actress Bérénice Bejo blends perfectly into the decor with her pretty red dress. The actress, who won the female performance prize in 2013 for "The past" by the Iranian Afghar Farahadi, is taking to the Cannes steps this year to support his companion, the director Michel Hazanavicius. (VALERY HACHE / AFP)

A great moment of tenderness between Emmanuelle Béart and her husband, Frédéric Chaudière, on the red carpet. The actress is co-president of the Caméra d’or jury this year. This prize rewards a first film among all the Festival selections. (VITTORIO ZUNINO CELOTTO / GETTY IMAGES EUROPE)

After climbing the steps, alongside Mohammad Rasoulof, Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani, returns to the red carpet, with a smile, accompanied by French actor Samuel Le Bihan, godfather of Positive Cinema Week in Cannes. (LOIC VENANCE / AFP)

Xavier Dolan, Canadian director and president of the Un Certain Regard jury this year, seems happy to discover the last film in the official competition, "The most valuable commodity" by Michel Hazanavicius. (VALERY HACHE / AFP)

French actress Mélanie Laurent and Belgian director Lukas Dhont, who won the Grand Jury Prize for his film "Close" in 2022, pose in front of the lenses for one of the last climbs of the Festival steps. (VALERY HACHE / AFP)


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