In her new movie Jeanne du Barry, Maïwenn herself plays the title role with Johnny Depp as Louis XV, alongside Benjamin Lavernhe, Melvil Poupaud, Pierre Richard, Pascal Greggory and India Hair. The historical drama on the life, rise and fall of King Louis XV’s favorite, will be released in French cinemas the same day.

Jeanne Vaubernier, a young working-class woman hungry for culture and pleasure, uses her intelligence and allure to climb the rungs of the social ladder one by one. She becomes the favourite of King Louis XV who, unaware of her status as courtesan, regains through her his appetite for life. They fall madly in love. Against all propriety and etiquette, Jeanne moves to Versailles, where her arrival scandalizes the court…

French director, screenwriter, actress and producer Maïwenn directed her first feature film, Pardonnez-moi (Forgive Me), in 2006. Her filmmaking was already imbued with reality, drawing freely from her own life to shape her characters and plots. At the heart of her work lie a quest for identity, self-construction and family in the broadest sense.

At the 2011 Festival de Cannes, the director won the Prix du Jury (Jury Prize) for her film Polisse, in her first selection in Competition. Four years later, she was back in Official Selection with Mon Roi (My King), for which Emmanuelle Bercot won the 2015 Best Actress Award.

The opening ceremony of the 76th Festival de Cannes will be broadcast live on Tuesday, May 16 on France Télévisions and Brut. The traditional “Opération Ouverture” in French cinemas (ceremony and film) will be repeated the same evening with the support of FNCF (Fédération Nationale des Cinémas Français: National Federation of French Cinemas), in partnership with France Télévisions and Brut.