Meeting the Feature Film Jury

Press conference of the Jury of the 74th Festival de Cannes

 

On Tuesday afternoon, Spike Lee, the president of the Feature Film Jury for this 74th edition, along with all of the other jurors –  Jessica Hausner, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mylène Farmer, Mélanie Laurent, Mati Diop, Tahar Rahim, Kleber Mendonça Filho and Kang Ho Song – introduced themselves to journalists from around the world for a politically engaged press conference, hours before they are set to walk down the red carpet for the first time.

Spike Lee on Do The Right Thing, selected in 1989:

A lot of people said that my film was going to cause riots across the country. When I think back about my characters today, I see George Floyd. We would have hoped that some years later, Blacks wouldn’t still be hunted down like animals…

Mylène Farmer talks about one of her favourite memories from the Festival:

I still remember the emotions after Jane Campion won the Palme d’or for The Piano. She was the first woman to win it.

Tahar Rahim on what the Festival means for him:

This is where I was born! Cannes is something crazy that can change your life like no other place in the world.

Mélanie Laurent on this 74th edition:

There are two historical things this year: a majority of women on the Jury and a commitment to greater environmentalism. These two fights have to be waged at the same time. The Festival does its part, but it’s like trying to put out a fire with a drop of water. But I hope it’s the first and last festival to have to have a debate about women being a majority of the Jury. Give a space for women and nature to breathe.

Kleber Mendonça Filho on the suppression of culture in Brazil:

One way of resisting political power is to transmit information. In Brazil, the film archive has been closed for over a year, with 250,000 reels in the cupboards and technicians laid off. The Bolsonaro government’s contempt for culture is major.

Spike Lee, on the pace of streaming platforms in the world of cinema:

Platforms will coexist with cinema. There was a time when we thought television was going to kill cinema. This is nothing new, these are cycles.

Mati Diop, on this particular edition being held a year after the pandemic:

I feel like it’s the first edition of a new era. Personally and politically, we’re all going to see this selection with the weight of what’s going on now. But we’re not intending to put pressure on the films. We’re going to try to be present and receptive.

Kang Ho Song on his presence on the jury:

When I received the invitation to be part of the Jury, I first asked myself whether the Festival was actually going to take place. It’s a real miracle to be here!

Maggie Gyllenhaal on political cinema:

Cinema has often been political. Not in a politically correct context, but emotionally. I think that if we listen to our spirit and our heart when making a film, we can make political cinema.

Jessica Hausner on her role as a juror:

Sharing with the other members of this jury allows me to think about my own cinema, about my own mental machinery.

Mati Diop on cinema’s power to change things:

It’s important to keep in mind that cinema is one of the most powerful political tools. I don’t want cinema to be taken hostage by social issues. The most important thing is not why we show things, but how.