The recently announced
Cannes Film Festival
lineup is packed with highly anticipated films from some of the biggest directors on the planet, but it's not without controversy.
But while the Festival's artistic director,
Thierry Frémaux
, may be more tolerant of controversial artists than some American audiences would like, he still has his limits.
In a new interview with the French newspaper
Le Figaro
, Frémaux was asked why no new films by Roman Polanski and Woody Allen were selected for the festival.
Both filmmakers have continued to find success working in Europe despite seeing opportunities dry up in the United States due to personal scandals.
Roman Polanski, in 2017, in Cannes, where he presented "Based on a true story".
Well, "The Palace" will not be on the Cote d'Azur.
Polanski
is barred from entering the US because of his 1977 arrest for raping a 13-year-old girl, while Allen has largely become a Hollywood pariah due to renewed interest in allegations that he abused her. her stepdaughter Dylan Farrow in 1992.
Frémaux explained that while Polanski's next film,
The Palace , was not screened for the programmers, he did get a chance to see
Woody Allen
's new black comedy
set in France,
Coup de Chance
.
But he said the controversy surrounding Allen would cast a shadow over the festival if the film was selected, so he never seriously considered adding it to the lineup.
Thierry Frémaux was clear about the films by Polanski and Allen.
“We have not seen Polanski's film.
Woody Allen is a bit special, I saw it without seeing it,” Frémaux said in the interview translated by
IndieWire
, suggesting that he may have seen the film outside of the typical pre-festival presentation model.
“The film was not a candidate.
We also know that if his film is shown in Cannes, the controversy would take over his film, the other films”.
Allen filmed
Coup de Chance
in Paris with actors such as Melvil Poupaud and Valérie Lemercier, as well as cinematographer Vittorio Storaro.
Allen's last film to play at Cannes was the 2016 Café Society
opening night selection
.
The last time on the red carpet in Cannes, for Woody Allen and his wife Soon-Yi Previn, was in May 2016, with "Café Society".
Johnny Depp, at the opening
The festival garnered attention for its decision to schedule Maïwenn's new film
Jeanne du Barry
, starring Johnny Depp as French monarch Louis XV, as the opening night selection.
Depp's first major role since his high-profile libel trial against Amber Heard was always bound to be controversial, but the film became even more controversial after a French journalist sued the director for assault.
Cannes director Thierry Frémaux defended his decision to schedule the film throughout the week, explaining that he saw the selection as fair game, because neither Depp nor Maïwenn have been legally convicted of any crimes.
“I don't see the Maïwenn film as a controversial choice at all,” Fremaux said in an interview.
"Because if Johnny Depp had been banned from working it would have been different, but that's not the case," he concluded.
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