On the evening of May 14th local time, the 77th Cannes Film Festival officially kicked off. The opening red carpet was dazzling, including Zhao Tao ("The Merry Generation"), Eddie Peng ("Dogs"), Tong Liya ("Dogs"), Gong Li, Guan Xiaotong, Juliette Binoche, Meryl Street Domestic and foreign actors such as Pu and Léa Seydoux ("Second Act"), as well as the main competition unit jury led by American director Greta Gerwig, all appeared in costumes.
On May 14, 2024 local time, Zhao Tao appeared on the red carpet at the opening ceremony of the 77th Cannes Film Festival with "The Romantic Generation". Visual China Picture
On May 14, 2024 local time, Peng Yuyan appeared on the red carpet at the opening ceremony of the 77th Cannes Film Festival. Visual China Picture
On May 14, 2024 local time, Gong Li appeared on the red carpet at the opening ceremony of the 77th Cannes Film Festival. Visual China Picture
The biggest highlight of the entire opening ceremony was that the famous American actor Meryl Streep was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award. In the Lumiere Hall of the Palais du Cinema, more than 2,000 spectators stood up and applauded, making the 74-year-old unable to conceal her excitement. The person in charge of presenting the award that night was French actor Juliette Binoche. On the stage, she listed Streep's wonderful performances in many films from "Sophie's Choice" to "Julie and Julia" and thanked this film industry senior for his exemplary achievements.
Juliette Binoche presents Meryl Streep with the Honorary Palme d'Or for Lifetime Achievement. ic data picture
Subsequently, Streep took over the Palme d'Or from Binoche and thanked the Cannes organizers for their affectionate speech. In fact, having been in the industry for more than 40 years, she has only been to Cannes once before. In 1989, she came to the Côte d'Azur to participate in the Palme d'Or in the main competition unit of the 42nd Cannes Film Festival with the crew of the Australian-American co-production "Cries in the Dark." Prize competition. In the end, "Sex, Lies and Videotape" won the grand prize that year, and the Best Actress award went to Streep.
Recalling the beginning, Streep said that she was already a mother of three children at the time, "I was about to be 40 years old, and I originally thought that my film career was about to end - in that era, for those who were over 40, For an actress, this is normal. But in the end, I can continue and be here tonight because of the many talented filmmakers I have worked with, including this year's jury president." At this point, Streep pointed to Greta Gerwig, who was also on the stage. The two collaborated on "Little Women" in 2019.
In the end, Streep said sincerely that he was filled with emotion when he just sat in the audience and saw the clips of his past films shown on the big screen. "It was like sitting on a high-speed train, looking out the window, watching my youth fly by, watching me enter middle age, until tonight, at this moment, seeing myself standing here On the film stage. The people and places I have experienced are all vivid in my mind. I am very grateful that you did not hate my face and did not get off the train early. "
A total of three Lifetime Achievement Awards will be awarded at Cannes this year, on May 20. The Palme d'Or awarded to Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli on Sunday was the first award in Cannes history to be awarded to a non-individual. The third Lifetime Achievement Award winner is also from the United States and is George Lucas, the creator of the "Star Wars" series. He will receive the Palme d'Or at the closing ceremony on May 25. In addition, directors Francis Ford Coppola and Paul Schrader, who debuted at about the same time as him, also have new films competing for this year's Palme d'Or, giving the entire 77th Cannes Film Festival a rich atmosphere. Hollywood colors.
Poster of the opening film "Second Act"
After the opening ceremony, the opening film "Second Act" was played. The film is directed by Frenchman Quentin Dubieu, and it follows his usual black comedy route. It tells the process of directing a film by artificial intelligence (AI), which is closely related to current events; after the screening, it won the audience A courtesy standing ovation.
Overall, the opening ceremony of this year's Cannes Film Festival went very smoothly, and the atmosphere was relaxed and happy.But outside the venue, from the organizers to the media, everyone knows that this year's film festival is full of clouds. In addition to the external impact caused by geopolitical conflicts, Cannes and even the French film industry itself are also facing many crises.
Art director Thierry Frémaud attended the Cannes "Honorary Palme d'Or" media meeting ic picture
At an earlier press conference, artistic director Thierry Frémault emphasized that he still hopes that the outside world will pay more attention to the film itself, and Not all kinds of controversies that have nothing to do with the movie. "In Cannes, political topics should appear on the screen." He said. As he said, in the past ten years or so, the media and the public's coverage and attention to the Cannes Film Festival seem to have changed significantly. The focus of interest has shifted from the film art itself to how the Cannes Film Festival responds to various societies. , expectations on political issues.
As a result, at the jury press conference on the afternoon of the opening day, the media from all walks of life were still unrelenting, asking endless questions such as the sex scandal in the French film industry, the Russo-Ukrainian war, the Palestinian-Israeli war, and the threats of strikes by film festival employees. . Chairman Greta Gerwig was asked at the beginning whether the anti-sexual assault movement in the French film industry, although late, would also have an impact on the judging results of this year's film festival. In response, she replied that she believed that such a social movement would only make things develop in the right direction, so it must be a good thing. As for the issue of temporary employees threatening to strike at the Cannes Film Festival, she said, "Of course I support the labor movement, and our union in the American film industry only went through this process last year. I hope the film festival and labor can reach an agreement that is beneficial to them. , an agreement that is also beneficial to the film festival. The most important thing is that everyone must be guaranteed a living wage.”
The labor organization hung a protest banner on the roof of the Film Palace
At the red carpet ceremony in the evening, the name The labor organization for Sous les Écrans la dèche: collectif des précaires des festivals de cinéma (The Poor Underneath the Screen: Association of Film Festival Workers Without Security) did indeed succeed in breaking through the obstacles and quietly climbed onto the roof of the Palais des Cinemas , hung up a protest banner with the words "Below the screen are poor people", while another group of people responded on the ground, also holding signs with the same slogan, chanting slogans and blowing whistles, hoping to attract the guests and media attention, but they were later dispersed by armed police.
According to representatives of the labor organization, they have not received a satisfactory answer so far, but French Labor Minister Catherine Watling has promised to meet with them as soon as possible. As for whether these temporary workers who have been silently serving the Cannes Film Festival will cause any sudden attacks in the next ten days or so, it must be kept strictly confidential for the time being.
