The Cannes Film Festival is back. It was opened by Volodymyr Zelenskyj. In a video speech, he recalled the political responsibility of cinema. Difficult topics on the Croisette.
Provide glamor and still be political, that has always been the claim of the most important European film festival in Cannes. But in times of war in Europe, the connection creates potential for conflict. The artistic director Thierry Frémaux had announced early on that he did not want to receive any official Russian delegations at the 75th anniversary edition. However, Frémaux reserved the right to include Russian filmmakers in the programme.
The Russian filmmaker Kirill Serebrennikov has now been invited to the competition with his film “Tchaikovsky's Wife”. Frémaux argued that he had not received any Russian state funding. Serebrennikov is in Cannes for the third time. The Russian, who was under house arrest in his home country for two years, now lives in Germany. The film tells a biographical episode from the life of the world-famous Russian composer Peter Tchaikovsky, who for fear of coming out as homosexual, a married a young woman in love with him – and dragged her into a tragedy.
Oscar winner Forest Whitaker receives the Golden Palm of Honor in Cannes
Video message from the Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
At the opening ceremony on Tuesday evening, the video address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was greeted with a standing ovation. His message was impressive: “In the end hatred will disappear and the dictators will die,” he said. He also recalled the power of cinema during World War II by referencing the film “The Great Dictator” in which Charlie Chaplin mocked Adolf Hitler. “We need a new Chaplin today to prove that the cinema is not silent,” said Zelenskyj. “Will the cinema remain silent, or will it speak up? Can the cinema stay out of the matter?” ;Applause.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the audience via video at the opening ceremony
Few women directing
In competition at the 75th Film Festival, “Tchaikovsky's Wife” competes with 20 other films, only four of them directed by women. She does not yet see equality between the sexes and minorities in the film industry, said the actress and director Rebecca Hall, who is a member of the jury and decides on the awarding of the Palme d'Or this year.
Oscar winner Forest Whitaker, who is presenting the film he produced “For the Sake of Peace” in Cannes, said that for more diversity, money had to be collected for the implementation of relevant topics. In his film, a young woman in South Sudan tries to bring about peace between hostile groups. Whitaker receives the Palme d'honneur in Cannes.
“I think we've made some progress but it's not done yet,” continued Rebecca Hall. Her jury colleague Jeff Nichols anticipated that issues such as the perspective of minorities could play a role in the jury's discussions.
Also on the jury is Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, who will soon be based in his home country subject to a copyright lawsuit. A former student accuses him of having stolen her idea for his film “A Hero” – which was honored with a prize in Cannes last year.
The two-time Oscar winner contradicted this representation on the opening day in Cannes. The story is based on a true event that was reported by numerous media – and is therefore not covered by copyright: “If an event has already taken place, it belongs in the public domain.”
The jury around Rebecca Hall and the chairman Vincent Lindon wants to discuss minority issues
Cronenberg, the Dardenne brothers, Östlund – the winners are returning to Cannes
Several revenants who already have a Golden Palm in their trophy cabinet are entering the race: Canadian doyen David Cronenberg, for example, gives with “Crimes of the Future ” his highly anticipated comeback.
Starring Léa Seydoux, Viggo Mortensen and Kristen Stewart. The science fiction horror film “Crimes of the Future” is set in a future world where the biological makeup of humans can be altered by advanced technologies.
Other previous winners are the Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, the Swedish director Ruben Östlund, the Japanese Hirokazu Kore-Eda, who received the Palme d'Or for “Shoplifters” in 2018, and the Romanian Cristian Mungiu. South Korean director Park Chan-wook has also received the Jury Prize twice in Cannes. His competing work is called “Decision to Leave” and is a mystery thriller.
“Armageddon Time” boasts an all-star cast: the film by American filmmaker James Gray is set during Ronald Reagan's election period, in which the Trump family also has their fingers in the pie. Anne Hathaway and Anthony Hopkins star. The director has already been invited to Cannes five times, but has always come away empty-handed.
The red carpet is at least as important in Cannes as the palm trees
Scary and glamor in Cannes
There's all sorts of spooky things to see this year: already the (out of competition) opening film “Coupez!” by “The Artist” director Michel Hazanavicius is a zombie comedy. “Cut!” is the title translated, a play on words with filmcraft and vampirism. Actually, the film “Z (comme Z)” should be called. However, since this name is reminiscent of the Z symbol used by Russia in the Ukraine war, the film was renamed.
The thriller “Holy Spider”, the competition entry by Iranian director Ali Abbasi, is also spooky : A man described as a “spider killer” is up to mischief in the holy Iranian city of Mashhad, he himself sees his murders of street prostitutes as a divine mission.
Glamor is provided by a number of premiere films that run out of competition, above all the sequel to the action film “Top Gun”, a cult film from 1986. Tom Cruise plays the leading role – even 36 years later – and is on the Côte  ;d'Azur expected. Also out of competition is the film “Elvis” by Australian director Baz Luhrmann. The anticipation of the biopic of the Kings of Rock'n'Roll is great. In it, US actor Austin Butler mimics the young Elvis, his equally legendary manager is played by Tom Hanks.
Star guest in Cannes: US actor Tom Cruise in the “Top Gun” sequel
Europe and his migration history
You can't help but notice that the African continent isn't represented with exactly zero competition entries. After all, some directors devote themselves to topics related to colonialism, migration and racism. With “Tori and Lokita”, the Belgian Dardenne brothers are showing a drama about two young migrants from the African continent. Joely Mbundu and Pablo Schils took on the leading roles.
In “Mother and Son”, French director Lèonor Serraille tells the story of Rose and her two sons, Ernest and Jean, who emigrate from the Ivory Coast to Paris in 1986. The film follows the family into 2010. It shows them growing together but also threatening to break up. The work of the Catalan video artist Albert Serra “Pacification – Tourment sur les iles” is set in French Polynesia and focuses on the conflicts between the French establishment and the local population.
Christian Mungiu's competition entry could be instructive for understanding racism: his drama “RMN” unfolds in a village community in Transylvania. After the arrival of foreign factory workers, she is overcome by racist prejudices. A disturbing mélange of fears, frustrations, conflicts and passions unfolds.
Film still from “The Stars At Noon” by Claire Denis
Ukrainian films and Russia boycott
At the beginning of March, the film festival announced that it would bar Russian delegations from participating unless the Russian attack was halted under conditions that satisfied the Ukrainian people. And in fact, no official Russian representatives, no Russian filmmakers and no Russian film critics or journalists have been invited this year. The fact that Kirill Serebrennikov, who lives in Germany, is now represented in the competition, gives way to this tough position only imperceptibly on.
The most famous Russian film critic, Andrej Plakhov from Lviv, fell victim to her. However, he reacted confidently: “Perhaps we really need to understand what it is like to be citizens of an aggressor country,” he wrote in a public statement on his Facebook page.
However, not everyone in Ukraine shares the “zero tolerance” policy towards everything Russian: For example, Sergei Loznitsa, probably the most renowned filmmaker in Ukraine, commented in March against the blanket boycott of Russian films: “Whatever is terrible,” he said in an interview for industry magazine Variety. “But I appeal to everyone not to fall into madness. We don't have to judge people by their passports, but by their actions.” This position brought Loznitsa an expulsion from the National Film Academy of Ukraine, which was founded in 2017. His film “The Natural History of Destruction” is screened in Cannes as a special out-of-competition screening.
Director Mantas Kvedaravičius shot a documentary about Mariupol in 2014, but he was unable to finish the continuation of the documentary. He was killed by the Russian army in Ukraine in 2022.
Filming at the front
The film “Mariupolis 2” by Mantas Kvedaravičius will also be shown in Cannes. The Lithuanian director was murdered by the Russian army in Mariupol in April. His fiancee Hanna Bilobrova, who was there with him, was able to secure the material that had already been shot. Together with Mantas Kvedaravičius' cutter Dounia Sichov, a harrowing, highly topical testimony was created. The festival announced that it was absolutely essential to present “Mariupolis 2” in Cannes. That is why the film was subsequently added to the programme. Its premiere is on May 19.
In one of the side programs of the festival, “Un Certain Regard” (“A Special View”), another film attracts attention: “Butterfly Visions” by the young Ukrainian Director Maksim Nakonechnyi. The film, completed before the war, tells a “harsh, surrealistic story of a fighter, the pilot Lilja, who, after the experience of captivity, is desperately trying to return to her normal life,” according to the director. “Unfortunately, my film was probably a premonition of war,” says Maksim Nakonechnyi. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion he has been at the front – with gun and camera. “We want to make a documentary out of this,” he says.