From veterans like Richard Gere and Meryl Streep to rising stars like Barry Keoghan and Anya Taylor-Joy: actors from several generations will attend the 77th Cannes Film Festival - an event that will also be in the shadow of the #MeToo (#MeToo) movement in France, led by actress Judith Godrech, reported AFP. quoted by BTA.
The world of cinema returns to the Cote d'Azur from 14 to 25 May for the forum, marked by a strong presence of the Hollywood industry, two months before the Olympic Games in Paris.
After Martin Scorsese and Harrison Ford last year, one of the most anticipated events now is the presentation in the competition program of the new production "Megalopolis" by Francis Ford Coppola. This will happen 45 years after "Apocalypse Now", which brought the director a second "Golden Palm" award, notes AFP.
The Adam Driver-starring feature, whose first trailer was unveiled a few days ago, promises to be a sci-fi masterpiece with big ambitions, a testament film 40 years in the making and consuming some of Coppola's financial fortune.
He will be in Cannes together with other representatives from the heyday of American cinema: George Lucas, the creator of "Star Wars", will receive an honorary "Golden Palm", as well as actress Meryl Streep.
Hollywood's young guard are also expected: Barry Keoghan and Jacob Elordi, who appeared in "Saltburn", each starring in a film in competition at Cannes, also Margaret Qualley.
George Miller will present Furiosa: The Mad Max Saga, a prequel to his post-apocalyptic film series.
Seven years after the start of the #MeToo movement, the topic is still very relevant - both in the US, where one of producer Harvey Weinstein's convictions was recently overturned, and in France - in October, a trial against Gerard Depardieu will begin.
Actress Judith Godrech, who led the movement in France and accused of rape two leading figures in auteur cinema - Benoit Jacquot and Jacques Doillon, on May 15 will present her 17-minute short film Moi aussi (Me too) dedicated to sexual violence.
The festival, which states in a press release that it wants this screening to "give voice to these testimonies", is preparing for an edition under the banner of freedom of speech.
Of the hundred or so films in all sections of the festival, 22 are competing for the "Golden Palm" award, won last year by "Anatomy of a Fall" of the French director Justine Trier.
The jury will be chaired by the 40-year-old American Greta Gerwig, the first female director who managed to realize revenues exceeding 1 billion US dollars at the box office with "Barbie".
She will be joined by Omar Sy and the Indian-born actress Lily Gladstone, who made her debut at Cannes a year ago with Martin Scorsese's film "Killers of the Colored Moon,", AFP recalls.
Also in the running are regulars such as Jacques Audiard, presenting himself with an unexpected Spanish-language musical set in the world of drug traffickers, as well as David Cronenberg. Emma Stone meets again in "Kinds of Kindness" (Kinds of Kindness) with his favorite director Yorgos Lanthimos, after winning an "Oscar" for "Wretched Creatures".
As often happens, on Boulevard "Croiset" world events will also be reflected, especially in the competition program, with the drama about young Donald Trump ("The Intern") and the adaptation of the novel "Limonov" of Emmanuel Carrère of the Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov, living in exile,.
Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof, who is in contention for the Palme d'Or, was sentenced on charges of breaching national security to eight years in prison and flogged on the eve of the festival. He is banned from traveling abroad. His production "The seed of the wild fig" will be presented in Cannes.
The film industry will continue to ask questions about the impact of artificial intelligence and new technologies on creative work, six months after the historic strike in Hollywood and at a time when the festival opens a competition for virtual reality.
With tens of thousands of visitors and stars from all over the world, Cannes will also be a dress rehearsal for security authorities, two months before the Olympic Games in Paris, notes AFP.
The start of the film festival will be given on May 14, Tuesday evening, by actress Camille Cotten, before the screening of "Second Act” (Le Deuxième acte) directed by Quentin Dupuillot starring Léa Seydoux. At the same time, the production will go to the cinemas.
There is a possibility that the festival will face a strike by some of the staff. About 100 employees, including projectionists and ticket sellers, have called for a strike over pay and working conditions. A possible strike will not threaten the event, but could cause disruption, notes AFP.