After the edition with the handbrake on which was staged in the summer due to the pandemic, with a clear prevalence of French titles to the detriment of the great Hollywood productions, the Cannes Film Festival number 75 starts again from the glitter of the red carpet, but also from a not indifferent social commitment, given the times of war that Europe has been struggling to face since March. “It will be a dignified and respectful edition of these times of war,” assured the president of the jury Vincent Lindon before giving the floor, towards the end of the opening ceremony conducted by actress Virginie Efira, to the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyin connection on the maxi-screen set up on the stage of the Grand Theater Lumiere.
In addition to the suffering of his people, the tragedy of Mariupol and the siege of the Azovstal steel mill, Zelensky took advantage of the opportunity given to him by the Cannes Film Festival to address the world of cinema directly, quoting director Mantas Kvedaravicius, who died in Ukraine – the his documentary, Mariupolis 2was finished by his partner Hanna Bilobrova and will be presented at the Festival in a special screening – and launching a message of solidarity and civil commitment so that cinema “does not remain silent”. “Hatred will eventually disappear and dictators will die. We are at war for freedom, ”Zelensky said, quoting The Great Dictator by Charlie Chaplin, greeted by the standing ovation of the audience in the hall. “We need a new Chaplin to show that today’s cinema is not silent. We will continue to fight, because we have no other choice and I am convinced that the dictator will lose. But will the cinema shut up or will it talk? Can cinema stay out of this? ».
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The applause, however, was not only for Zelensky, but also for the actor and activist Forest Whitaker who, during the opening ceremony of Cannes 2022, received the Palm of Honor for a career that has seen him star in, among others, iconic films such as The color of money by Scorsese e The soldier’s wife by Jordan: «It will take a long time to overcome the traumas of recent years, the pandemic and the ongoing war. Directors help us make sense of this world “, said the actor, who will present, also in Cannes, a documentary produced by him on the situation in Southern Sudan. In short, Cannes 75 temporarily puts aside the sparkle of the Montee des Marches to focus on civil and social commitment, while allowing itself a dose of lightness through the projection of the comic film about zombies Coupet!, directed by Michel Hazanavicius and starring Romain Duris and Berenice Bejo. It’s still the cinema, baby.
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Source: Vanity Fair
