After a politically charged fortnight of screenings and celebrity sightings, the Cannes film festival will present its coveted main awards on Saturday.
The 22 films chosen for the main competition have been anxiously awaited by the casts and directors, who will most likely receive the Palme d’Or for best picture.
What were some of the highlights of the 11 days leading up to the ceremony’s 1640 GMT start?
Favorites in the competition
The film The Palme d’Or is renowned for being difficult to predict, but critics’ favorites include Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value” and dissident Iranian director Jafar Panahi’s “It Was Just an Accident.”
On Thursday, Trier’s film received a remarkable standing ovation for 19 minutes.
Both Richard Linklater’s “Nouvelle Vague” about French director Jean-Luc Godard and Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa’s study of despotism are highly regarded.
Dress code for the red carpet
A new dress code, which states that extravagantly large dresses are prohibited on the red carpet as well as “total nudity,” was the opening act of the festival on May 13.
The “Monster’s Ball” actress had to have a wardrobe change for the ceremony’s opening ceremony because her dress was too long, leading to the first victim.
Snigdha Baruah, an Indian model and influencer, was forced to remove a flowing train after being barred by security at the VIP entrance despite the fact that many appeared to flout the rules.
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– #MeToo –
The festival made a new #MeToo policy by extinguishing an actor from the red carpet in a well-known French movie because of rape allegations after years of scandals in the film industry and pressure to speak out.
Theo Navarro-Mussy, who appears in “Dossier 137,” refutes the allegations, and a preliminary police investigation was closed last month.
However, Kevin Spacey, who accepted a lifetime achievement award at a charity gala, made a positive step with this year’s gathering on the Riviera.
Meanwhile, Australian legend Nicole Kidman pleaded with more female directors, saying their number was still “incredibly low.”
A Palme d’Or was only ever won by three women.
– Actors who later became directors
A trio of actors had different fortunes when they made their highly anticipated directorial debuts.
Harris Dickinson, 28, and Kristen Stewart, 35, both from “Twilight,” left Cannes with praise ringing in their ears for “Urchin” and “The Chronology of Water.”
Reviews of “Eleanor the Great,” Scarlett Johansson’s first performance in front-of-camera role, would have made it harder to read.
– The Gaza War
This year’s war in Gaza had no other options. On the eve of the festival, hundreds of prominent film personalities wrote an open letter to the industry pleading against “genocide.”
When it first appeared on May 15, the heartbreaking documentary from Iranian filmmaker Sepideh Farsi about the slain Palestinian photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on her home in Gaza, had stunned the audience.
As he promoted a documentary about his life this week, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange walked the red carpet wearing a t-shirt with the names of the murdered children in Gaza.
– Trump era
US President Donald Trump was also concentrating his thoughts on the Cannes film market, where deals are closed for new projects, amid the champagne and air kisses.
Trump’s pledge to impose “100-per-cent tariffs on movies made abroad” sparked a flurry of industry insiders’ horror, disbelief, and mockery.
I don’t seem to be taking it very seriously. Wes Anderson, an American director, told AFP that it is simply too surreal.
Robert De Niro, the star of “Taxi Driver,” criticized “America’s Filipino president” during the film’s opening ceremony.
– Cruise show
Tom Cruise swept into Cannes on a steamroller of buzz surrounding the first week’s premiere of “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.”
Cruise, who performs his own stunts, took his risk a little too far during a shoot in South Africa, according to director Christopher McQuarrie, who was reportedly in danger of passing away.
He was lying on the plane’s wing, he claimed. His wing’s front was hanging out in his arms. The US filmmaker claimed that we could not determine whether he was conscious or unconscious.
Palm down, please.
After a freak accident on the Cannes Boulevard seafront caused a man to be struck by a falling palm tree, one of the attendees’ main topics of conversation this year was the emergency services’ response.
Source: Channels TV
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