The red carpet and formal dresses are ready: Cannes welcomed the world's largest film festival today, which is trying to distance itself from controversies over artificial intelligence or the lack of women in the race for the “Palme d'Or“ award, AFP reported.
From Tuesday, May 12, for two weeks, the French seaside resort will once again be the epicenter of world cinema and will welcome a number of famous directors (Pedro Almodovar, James Gray, Asghar Farhadi...) and a galaxy of stars such as Javier Bardem, Scarlett Johansson, Léa Seydoux, Cate Blanchett or John Travolta.
Even before the festival's opening ceremony begins tonight, the curious are taking their places around the steps of the The Festival and Congress Palace, which will be covered with the legendary red carpet today. The official poster of the film forum, depicting Thelma and Louise - the heroines of the 1991 film of the same name in the road movie genre by director Ridley Scott, played by Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon, was placed on the building on Sunday, AFP recalls.
“Every year there are big stars“, Joe Morpeli told AFP, relying on a small ladder to have a good view of the parade of stars. “We love the actors and say: “Well, why don't we go and see them live, talk to them and, above all, film them?“.
Tonight, all eyes will be on the opening ceremony, during which the New Zealand director of the trilogy “Lord of the Rings The Rings' Peter Jackson will receive an honorary "Palme d'Or" in recognition of his entire career, AFP recalls.
After that, the feature film La Vénus électrique by Frenchman Pierre Salvadori will be shown out of competition, and the race for the "Palme d'Or" will begin on Wednesday, May 13.
At the end of the two-week festival, on May 23, the jury, chaired by South Korean director Park Chan-wook, will have to choose the winner from among the 22 films in the competition program. Last year, the prize was awarded to "An Ordinary Incident" by Iranian director Jafar Panahi.
„I think the prizes should be awarded to works that will remain relevant 50 or 100 years“, the 62-year-old director told AFP, feeling “a special sense of responsibility“ at the thought of presiding over a jury that includes American star Demi Moore and Chinese director Chloe Zhao.
Cannes festival director Thierry Fremaux has sought to respond to criticism over the under-representation of female directors, with only five in the running for the “Palme d'Or“, AFP notes.
“There should be no quota policy in any case”, Fremaux said, assuring that gender equality prevails in the various juries and the festival's management. He rejected accusations related to the choice of the festival's official poster. “We have never chosen Geena Davis, Susan Sarandon or a Ridley Scott film as a poster to create a cheap feminist image“, replied Fremaux.
The debate on the use of artificial intelligence is also part of the Cannes festival, which will welcome tens of thousands of visitors.
“One thing is certain regarding artificial intelligence - we, in Cannes, are on the side of artists“, said Thierry Fremaux. “We are on the side of everyone whose profession could be negatively affected by artificial intelligence“, he added, although one of the films selected for the Cannes selection, Steven Soderbergh's documentary about John Lennon's last interview, uses this technology, AFP notes.
On Monday, the Cannes festival announced its partnership with the Meta corporation. They indicated that artificial intelligence was involved in the creation of this documentary by the director of “Traffic“ and “The Gang of Ocean“. The value of the multi-year partnership has not yet been announced, AFP notes.