Artists of the Opening Ceremony © Jean-Louis Hupé
The 79th Festival de Cannes is open!
“To all of you who are trying to resist, here and elsewhere. Good evening and welcome!”
It was with these words, between stress and joy, that French actress Eye Haïdara stepped onto the stage of the Grand Théâtre Lumière in Cannes this evening, electrifying the Opening Ceremony of the 79th Festival de Cannes with her energy and generosity.
Soon joined musically by violinist Miri Ben-Ari, the Mistress of Ceremonies quoted Godard: “We don’t make a film to be cautious.” She paid tribute to those who choose to film what we would rather not see. Those who, through their films, remind us that life is precious. All life. The hero’s and the anonymous one’s. The powerful’s and the invisible’s. Those who also choose to make us laugh, because laughter is a form of courage that is always slightly underestimated.
Another tribute, and above all a declaration of love to cinema: “Because these stories that resonate within us, deep in our chest, alone sketch out all of humanity. Because they say: look, this is how we live here. This is what we feel here. This is what we hope for here. Because nothing has been found better than two hours in the dark to learn how to watch and listen to others in full light.”
A perfect speech to invite onto the stage the eight exemplary film lovers who make up this year’s Jury of the Longs Métrages. American actress and producer Demi Moore, Irish-Ethiopian actress Ruth Negga, Belgian director and screenwriter Laura Wandel, Chinese director and screenwriter Chloé Zhao, Chilean director and screenwriter Diego Céspedes, Ivorian-American actor Isaach De Bankolé, Scottish screenwriter Paul Laverty, and Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård.
Finally, South Korean director, screenwriter and producer Park Chan-wook, who presides over this international jury—the one who turned revenge into an art form, violence into poetry, Korean cinema into our obsession, and who owes us a few sleepless nights…
Then it was the turn of actor Elijah Wood (a.k.a. Frodo) to pay tribute to his longtime friend, the New Zealand director Peter Jackson, with whom he has shot more than nine hours of film. The standing ovation was long and heartfelt for Sir Peter Jackson, for whom technology means nothing unless it carries a share of humanity.
Playfully, the filmmaker reflected on his two previous appearances in Cannes and the success that accompanied them: “Thank you to the Festival, it was unexpected and almost miraculous. A surprise in every sense and an immense honour bestowed upon me.”
The honour continued in music, with Theodora and Oklou performing a cover of The Beatles’ Get Back, a nod to Jackson’s documentary series The Beatles: Get Back.
Finally, to close the ceremony and launch twelve days of screenings for this 79th edition, two actresses took the stage: Gong Li and Jane Fonda. One from the East, the other from the West, the Chinese and the American joined voices to call for the celebration of “boldness, freedom, and the fierce act of creation,” officially declaring the 79th Festival de Cannes: “Open!”
