(Cannes) Our special correspondent on the Croisette reports on the latest news from the Cannes Film Festival.
Presented by Uma Thurman, the Palme d’or d’honneur was awarded to Michael Douglas to a long standing ovation. A regular at Cannes, the actor reinvented himself here 10 years ago by accompanying the presentation of Behind the Candelabra, a film by Steven Soderbergh in which he portrayed the flamboyant pianist Liberace. “I came to Cannes for the first time more than 40 years ago, said the actor during an interview broadcast on Tuesday in Journal de France 2. There is a real love of cinema here and we also have the opportunity to meet people from different cultures. On the stage of the Grand Théâtre Lumière, Michael Douglas recalled the importance of France in the history of the United States, in particular thanks to the character of Benjamin Franklin whom he portrays in a series, and made a point of saying in French : ” I kiss you with all my heart “.
She has already accompanied the films in which she plays to Cannes, even won the prize for best actress in Un certain regard thanks to Chambre 212 (Christophe Honoré), has already been part of the jury under the presidency of Martin Scorsese in 1998 , but Chiara Mastroianni had never assumed the function of mistress of ceremonies. “I was surprised to be offered this role, me the novice who has never presented anything! “, declared to the Sunday newspaper the one who also climbed the steps in the company of her legendary parents, Catherine Deneuve and Marcello Mastroianni. Of all the members of the family, the one who will experience the greatest emotion will probably be Anna Biolay, daughter of Chiara Mastroianni. The latter, aged 20, will climb the steps for the first time during the presentation of Rosalie, a film by Stéphanie Di Giusto in which she plays a role, selected for Un certain regard.
Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund, who chairs the jury this year, is part of the select club of filmmakers who have won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival twice. During a press conference on Tuesday, the director of The Square (2017) and Triangle of Sadness (2022), also in the running for the Oscars earlier this year, said that as a European filmmaker, a Palme worth more to him than a golden statuette. “Between a third Palme and an Oscar, the choice is easy to make! “, launched the one who, in an interview with Variety, did not hide his ambition to become the first filmmaker in history to achieve a Cannes hat-trick. When it was pointed out to him that Ken Loach, competing this year with The Old Oak, could achieve the feat before him, Östlund saw no problem. “If Ken Loach has made the best film, he will have his third Palme. And I will have to win four! »
