PARS.- He Cannes Festival prepares for an edition loaded with stars, among them the director Francis Ford Coppola, and the actresses Meryl Streep o Emma Stonebut the shadow of the #MeToo movement hangs over the contest and a strike threatens to disrupt it.
The film exhibition, the most important in the world, starts this Tuesday and rolls out its red carpet to veteran filmmakers, such as the American Coppola and his long-awaited Megalpolis, and new talents, such as the French director Coralie Fargeat and her film gore (The substance) with actresses Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley.
The new film from the author of Apocalypse Now (1979) –with which he won his second Palme d’Or, after The conversation (1974)–, tells the dream of an architect (Adam Driver) to rebuild a city.
Other films in contention for the Palme d’Or are Kinds of Kindnesswith the Greek Yorgos Lanthimos again directing the American Emma Stone, and The Shroudsby Canadian David Cronenberg, another regular at the contest.
The Brazilian Karim Ainouz, the only Latin American in competition, will present Destination Motela story of love and desire in the northeast of Brazil.
A striking proposal is that of the Frenchman Jacques Audiard: Emilia Prezbetween a thriller and a musical, about a Mexican drug lord who wants to change his sex, with Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldaa in the cast.
Iran’s Mohammad Rasoulof was sentenced to five years in prison in his country just a few days before his film was released The seed of the sacred fig in the sample.
“Case by case”
In total, 22 films aspire to the Palme d’Or, of which four are directed by women – last year there were seven, the record -, among them the British Andrea Arnold, in her fourth time in the running.
On the eve of the starting signal and with #MeToo once again shaking French cinema, the organizers are holding their breath in the face of rumors of possible accusations of sexual violence against prominent figures present at the event.
The president of the exhibition, Iris Knobloch, assured this week that if it happens, they would do everything possible to make the decision on a case-by-case basis and that they would take into account the impacts on the film concerned.
The actress Judith Godrche, who has become the leading voice of the movement in France after denouncing directors Benot Jacquot and Jacques Doillon for rape, will show a short film with testimonies from victims of sexual violence.
This 77th edition could also be altered by a strike called by a small workers’ association, “Under the screens, misery”, to protest their working conditions.
The organizers acknowledged that they are aware of the difficulties suffered by some of their workers and offered dialogue.
George Lucas y Meryl Streep
Out of competition, great productions will see the light on the Croisette, among them Angry, by George Miller, a new episode of his saga Mad Max, y Horizon, an American Sagaa multi-chapter thriller directed by Kevin Costner.
And veteran director Oliver Stone will release a documentary about Brazilian President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva, his imprisonment between 2018 and 2019 and his return to power.
Two other heavyweights of the seventh art, George Lucas, the creator of Star Warsand the American actress Meryl Streep, winner of three Oscars, will receive an honorary Palme d’Or.
The jury, chaired by director Greta Gerwig, the author of the successful Barbie, award the highest award on May 25 to designate the successor of Anatomy of a eachby the French Justine Triet.
In the parallel sections, dedicated to new talents, several Ibero-American productions stand out.
The Argentine contingent will be the largest with Federico Luis (Simn de la monta), Hernn Rosselli (Something old, something new, something borrowed) and Yair Said (More people die on Sundays).
Brazil will also be present with Marcelo Caetano (Baby) and the do of Eryk Rocha and Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha and their documentary A queda do cu around the Yanomami people of the Amazon.
The Colombian Camila Beltrán will present her first opera, My beastabout a teenager and a prophecy of the devil, and the Spanish Jons Trueba will bring you will return about a couple who wants to have a party to announce their separation.
FUENTE: AFP
