The Cannes Film Festival, which was severely affected by the pandemic, is returning to a form that – despite the ongoing war in Ukraine – can once again be the envy of any self-respecting entertainment event. The attractive and highly diverse line-up will include this year’s biggest hits and highly anticipated premieres of arthouse cinema. With a strong turnout of Poles.
The 75th anniversary edition (opening today) will open with a self-referential French black comedy about zombies “Cut” (Cut!) Michel Hazanavicius. This is a remake of Shinichiro Ueda’s Japanese cult hit “One Cut of The Dead”, presented here last year at the Asian Five Flavors festival. Bérénice Bejo and Romain Duris play experienced filmmakers making a low-budget horror film attacked by real dead people. The film was originally titled “Z (as in Z)”, but due to associations with ominous inscriptions on Russian tanks and combat equipment, it was changed at the request of the Ukrainians. Not so long ago, three years ago, the grotesque “The Dead Don’t Die” – also about bloodthirsty creatures rising from the grave – was presented by Jim Jarmusch. It was not very well received. How will it be now?
Cannes: Will there be a boycott of Russian culture?
According to the statement of artistic director Thierry Frémaux, the boycott of Russian culture will be limited. “We do not succumb to political correctness. We act individually,” he explained to the specialist daily “Variety”. This means not allowing a film delegation linked to the government of the Russian Federation to enter Cannes and – apparently – refusing to issue accreditation to most journalists from media outlets that have not condemned the war in Ukraine.
