Organisers of Cannes Film Festival say they are confident of being able to host dinners and beach screenings in July alongside main competition as some Covid-19 measures are lifted in France.
(Reuters)
Sean Penn and Wes Anderson have been among heavy hitters vying for the Cannes Film Festival’s top
award in July, when the cinema showcase is hoping international
stars will be able to mingle at parties on the French riviera
again.
Organisers of the world’s biggest film festival said on
Thursday they were confident of being able to host dinners and
beach screenings alongside the main competition as some Covid-19
measures are lifted in France.
Usually held in May, the extravaganza was cancelled last
year due to the pandemic, and will run between July 6 and 17
this year.
READ MORE: Jodie Foster to receive honorary Palme d’Or from Cannes
Covid-19 measures
While there will be no “kissing at the top of the red carpet”, restrictions should not be too onerous, festival director Thierry Fremaux said.
Travellers from some countries such as Britain are still facing quarantine measures in France for now, but there will no longer be evening curfews.
After a Hollywood-heavy edition of Cannes in 2019, the
comeback line-up features fewer big-name US stars.
The selection competing for the Palme d’Or features some
films anchored in Covid-19 times, with characters wearing face
masks.
“Cinema will also have been marked by this,” Fremaux told a
news conference.
French director Catherine Corsini’s “La Fracture” is set in
a hospital in the present day.
READ MORE: Cannes rolls out red carpet for scaled down film showcase
Ozon to Audiard
Highlights will include “The French Dispatch” by Wes
Anderson, known for his quirky “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “The
Grand Budapest Hotel”.
Anderson’s latest film, about a fictional
US newspaper office in France starring Bill Murray and Tilda
Swinton, has been delayed since 2019.
“Flag Day”, a drama directed by Sean Penn, will also among
the 24 films competing, with a jury headed by US filmmaker
Spike Lee.
Italy’s Nanni Moretti, who won in 2001, returns with “Tre
Piani”, while Paul Verhoeven will present “Benedetta”, about a
love story in a convent.
Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard star in “Annette”, a
musical by Leos Carax that will premiere on the opening night.
French directors Francois Ozon and Jacques Audiard will also
be presenting films, as will Iran’s Asghar Farhadi, Russia’s
Kirill Serebrennikov and Thailand’s Apichatpong Weerasethakul,
who won the Palme d’Or in 2010.
READ MORE:Virtual reality movies come to Cannes film festival
Cannes vs Netflix
Outside the competition, Oliver Stone will screen a reworked
version of his 1991 political thriller “JFK”, with new material.
Oscar-winner Jodie Foster, who first walked the red carpet
at Cannes as a 13-year-old when she starred in “Taxi Driver”,
will be presented with an honorary Palme d’Or.
Cannes’ organisers have long been at loggerheads with
streaming giant Netflix, which produces its own films and has
shown them some at festivals, but has objected to strict French
rules about giving films in competition a cinema release.
Fremaux said two Netflix movies had been possible Cannes
contenders, but no agreement had been reached on how to showcase
them.
READ MORE:Cannes Film Festival to kick off with no Netflix or Tarantino
Source: Reuters