A red carpet but two atmospheres: the Cannes Film Festival will do the splits on Wednesday by welcoming Russian dissident Kirill Serebrennikov and Hollywood star Tom Cruise, for its first day of competition, placed under the sign of the alliance of politics and glamour.
To discover
Discover the “Best of the Goncourt Prize” collection
Read alsoCannes Film Festival: surprise speech by President Zelensky to mobilize the world of cinema
It's a climb up the stairs that will make noise: for the first time, the terrible child of Russian cinema Kirill Serebrennikov, 52, known for his daring creations and his support for LGBT + people, will walk the red carpet and open the competition with
Tchaikovsky's Wife
.
By presenting this film on the first day of the competition, after a remote intervention Tuesday evening by Ukrainian President Zelensky, the festival intends to send a strong signal against the Russian regime.
Added to this is the programming of several Ukrainian films or evoking the fate of the country, including
Mariupol 2
by Lithuanian Mantas Kvedaravicius, killed in early April in Ukraine.
Read alsoUkraine: the Cannes festival will not welcome Russian delegations
The world cinema meeting refuses to welcome
“Russian official representatives, government authorities or journalists representing the official line”
Russian, but has always said it is ready to welcome dissident voices, starting with Kirill Serebrennikov.
This is the second year in a row that the director of
Leto
is seeking a Palme d'or.
Under house arrest in Moscow, last year he presented his feature film
Petrov Fever
remotely .
His actors had worn badges with his initials.
In the Palais des Festivals, the armchair bearing his name had remained empty, as in 2017 during the presentation of
Leto
.
Read alsoSerebrennikov, authorized to leave Russia in January, at the opening of the Avignon festival in July
Now based in Berlin, he explained to AFP at the end of April that he had left Moscow
"for a matter of conscience"
, even if he refused the term dissident.
In the running for the Palme d'Or, his film looks back on the brief and disastrous marriage of the composer of genius Piotr Ilitch Tchaikovsky, who was homosexual.
Read alsoBoarding for Cannes: the sun of the Croisette and the clouds of international news
On Tuesday, the president of the jury Vincent Lindon estimated, during the press conference, that it would be necessary
"to be careful to be dignified, respectful (...) just as a tribute for those who have days much more complicated than the ours"
, in Ukraine in particular.
This support is in line with the political tradition of the festival, which celebrates its 75th edition this year.
As in 1968, in the midst of a protest movement, when the Festival was interrupted by François Truffaut or even Jean-Luc Godard.
Or in 2010 when Thierry Frémaux and the Cannes Film Festival showed their support for director Jafar Panahi, by inviting him as a member of the jury while he was imprisoned in Iran.
Tom Cruise, flash pass
A few hours later, the cameras will heat up for another climb of the steps, that of Tom Cruise who will present
Top Gun: Maverick
at the end of the day , 36 years after the first opus.
An arrival on the Cannes carpet which promises to be spectacular: according to several American media, the Hollywood star, used to blockbusters and a great fan of stunts, would arrive by helicopter.
Read alsoThe big return of Tom Cruise to the Cannes Film Festival will be a breeze
Long-awaited on the Croisette, the 59-year-old actor-producer has never donned a superhero cape in his 40-year career but is nevertheless called upon to become a savior of cinema while theaters are slow to regain their level. filler from before the global health crisis.
With its passage on the red carpet, the Festival continues, here again, its tradition, claimed, of glamor, with a climb of the steps which has always seen film stars and fashion muses.