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IN PICS | Celebs kick off Cannes comeback in style

Stars out in force on French Riviera for opening ceremony

07 July 2021 - 17:16
By Reuters
Marion Cotillard attends the 'Annette' screening and opening ceremony of the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival.
Image: Mike Marsland/WireImage via Getty Images Marion Cotillard attends the 'Annette' screening and opening ceremony of the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival.

Decked out in a shimmering silver Chanel gown, Oscar-winning actress Marion Cotillard helped kick off Cannes' comeback on Tuesday as movie stars from far and wide descended onto the red carpet for the French cinema showcase.

The world's biggest film festival is marking its return after skipping 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, in slightly more subdued form, with fewer attendees and parties over the 12-day whirlwind of film premieres.

Stars were out in force on the French Riviera for the opening ceremony, in a show of support for an industry hammered by the pandemic after theatres closed for months.

“It will be my first time in a cinema for 15 months,” Brazilian filmmaker Kleber Mendonca Filho, one of the jury members who will pick the winner of the top Palme d'Or award, told a news conference earlier on Tuesday.

Farhana Bodi attends the screening of 'Annette'.
Image: Dominique Charriau/WireImage via Getty Images Farhana Bodi attends the screening of 'Annette'.

Hollywood stars Jessica Chastain and Adam Driver — who stars alongside Cotillard in the musical Annette, the opening film — were among celebrities who travelled to France for the event, along with Spanish film director Pedro Almodóvar and British actress Helen Mirren.

In a pearl-coloured Givenchy shift dress, Jodie Foster, who first came to Cannes as a 13-year-old when she starred in Taxi Driver, arrived to received a lifetime achievement award.

Actress Jodie Foster at the opening ceremony of the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival.
Image: Samir Hussein/WireImage via Getty Images Actress Jodie Foster at the opening ceremony of the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival.
Kat Graham at the opening ceremony of the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival.
Image: Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images for Kering Kat Graham at the opening ceremony of the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival.
Actress Jessica Chastain at the opening ceremony of the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival.
Image: Marc Piasecki/FilmMagic via Getty Images Actress Jessica Chastain at the opening ceremony of the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival.

Sean Penn and Wes Anderson will be among heavy hitters vying for prizes in the main film competition, one of several parallel events and premieres taking place over the next fortnight.

They include outdoor screenings on the beach along Cannes' famed Croisette walkway, where tourists beginning their summer holidays in the resort city will get a chance to catch a glimpse of Hollywood royalty.

Bella Hadid attends the screening of 'Annette'.
Image: Samir Hussein/WireImage via Getty Images Bella Hadid attends the screening of 'Annette'.
Helen Mirren attends the opening ceremony of the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival.
Image: Samir Hussein/WireImage via Getty Images Helen Mirren attends the opening ceremony of the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival.

The festival retains a very French flavour, and will showcase the latest outings by directors Francois Ozon and Jacques Audiard as well as Catherine Corsini's The Divide, set in modern day France against the backdrop of “Yellow Vest” antigovernment demonstrations.

Festival director Thierry Fremaux on Monday stood by strict French rules barring inclusion in the movie competition films promoted by streaming platforms like Netflix, unless they get a run in cinema theatres first.

US director Spike Lee, who wore a hot pink suit for the opening ceremony, chimed into the long-running Cannes vs Netflix debate, supporting the platform on which he released Da 5 Bloods at the height of pandemic lockdowns last year.

“Cinema and screening platforms can coexist at one time,” Lee told a news conference on Tuesday. “There was a thinking once that TV was going to kill cinema. This stuff is not new.”

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