Zelensky appeal beamed in to Cannes as festival rolls out red carpet
CANNES: A parade of Oscar winners on Tuesday kicked off the 75th Cannes Film Festival, devoting special attention to the war in Ukraine as it returned to high-wattage form after the lifting of Covid rules.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the gala opening ceremony as a surprise guest by video link from Kyiv, asking for the cinema world’s solidarity with his people in the face of the Russian invasion.
“In the end, hatred will disappear and dictators will die,” he told the rapt audience which gave him a standing ovation.
After two years in which the pandemic put a dampener on the world’s top cinema showcase, the masks are off, health passes are no longer needed and stars from around the globe are ready to party.
Forest Whitaker, the 60-yearold who scooped an Academy Award for “The Last King of Scotland” and starred in cult films such as “Ghost Dog” and recent TV hit “Godfather of Harlem”, picked up an honorary Palme d’Or at the opening ceremony on the Cote d’Azur.
He is a regular at the festival, having won its acting award back in 1988 for his role as jazz legend Charlie Parker in Clint Eastwood’s “Bird”. “When I came to Cannes, I was acknowledged as an artist for the first time internationally,” he told reporters.
“It really changed my life and the trajectory of my career in some ways, because it allowed me to be seen as an artist and not just a player.”
Punters thronged the Croisette seaside promenade ahead of the first red-carpet premiere, “Final Cut”, a comedy love letter to filmmaking and Z-list zombie movies from the team behind the Oscar-winning “The Artist”.
Its director Michel Hazanavicius told AFP it was “a joyous celebration of film people, which I hope will encourage others to get involved”.
The 12-day festival will really turn on the jets on Wednesday with the arrival of Tom Cruise — his first trip to the festival in exactly 30 years — for the European launch of “Top Gun: Maverick”.
The sequel, long delayed by the pandemic, has already been getting rave reviews and gives Cannes a chance to honour Cruise, described by festival director Thierry Fremaux as “someone who is devoted to cinema”.