Cannes is preparing to host the largest film festival in the world. Traders are busy facing the arrival of the 35,000 festival-goers expected from May 14 to 25. The opening ceremony, which takes place Tuesday evening, will be broadcast live on France 2, from 7 p.m. With Camille Cottin, as mistress of ceremonies. Festival-goers will immediately watch Quentin Dupieux’s Second Act, which notably puts Vincent Lindon in the spotlight. The actor will have the task of making people laugh.
Cinephiles and professionals of the 7th art will attend screenings of the twenty-two films in the official competition during the fortnight. They will discover the new creations of Paolo Sorrentino (the director of La Grande Bellezza), Christophe Honoré (who resurrects Marcello Mastroianni through his daughter Chiara) or Paul Shrader, a Hollywood legend. They should also watch with interest The Apprentice: Ali Abassi recounts the young years of Donald Trump.
The jury responsible for deciding between these feature films vying for the Palme d’Or is chaired by the American Greta Gerwig, still crowned by the global success of Barbie. She will be supported by Omar Sy, Eva Green and Kore-Eda, a Japanese filmmaker who was crowned at Cannes in 2018. Their prize list will be more than expected after the success of Anatomy of a Fall, awarded an Oscar after its Cannes triumph .
Experienced producer Sylvie Pialat heads the jury for La Semaine de la critique, a parallel selection focusing on first and second feature films. On the Directors’ Fortnight side, a selection that aims to be daring and less academic, many French films and in particular a burlesque rereading of the Dupont de Ligonnès affair.
Hollywood will be particularly celebrated this year on the Croisette, with the two honorary palms of gold awarded to Meryl Streep and George Lucas. We note, outside of competition, the return of the Mad Max saga and the arrival of Kevin Costner with a modern western. And Francis Ford Coppola, 85, returns to official competition with his monument film, Megalopolis. Will it earn him a third Palme d’Or?
Also readMad Max on the way to the Croisette: a post-apocalyptic saga in retro
If the general delegate Thierry Frémaux wants a “peaceful and joyful” 2024 edition, the atmosphere has deteriorated behind the scenes due to rumors of accusations linked to
“If the case of an accused person arises, we will ensure that we make the right decision on a case-by-case basis,” said Iris Knobloch, president of the Festival. And the organizers recalled their commitment since 2018 in the fight against sexual violence, “which has been prevalent for too long” in the 7th art.
The subject will be tackled head-on with the arrival on Wednesday of Judith Godrèche, who has become the spearhead of
But it is also on the social level that the 2024 edition could be turbulent: a collective of Cannes employees bringing together press officers, projectionists and ticketing managers are calling for a strike. They are asking to benefit from the show’s intermittent status and have received the support of actors like Louis Garrel and Swann Arlaud. The Festival said it was ready for dialogue.
An initiative which should make noise on the Croisette, Le Parisien published on the eve of the launch of the fortnight a column signed by 7,000 French actors, who express their discontent against the platforms. They ask to be paid, as required by a law of May 2021, in proportion to the success of the program in which they appear. And raise the threat of a strike in the sector. Among the signatories: André Dussollier, Benoît Magimel, Agnès Jaoui, Nicole Garcia, Catherine Frot or Karin Viard.
As for the security of the event, this year the Festival benefits from a unique system with seventeen video protection cameras using artificial intelligence. The objective is to spot suspicious behavior and detect the possible presence of weapons or crowd movements, according to the town hall. As the Paris Olympics approach, Cannes serves as a sort of rehearsal for the police.