“It is a great honor, a great privilege, to officially declare the 78th Cannes Film Festival open!” announced filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, the 1994 Palme d’Or winner for “Pulp Fiction”, on the stage of the Palais des Festivals.
The opening ceremony was notably marked by the backdrop of ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, where American star Robert De Niro delivered a strong rebuke to U.S. President Donald Trump. De Niro, aged 81, warned, “In the United States, we are fighting hard to defend the democracy we always took for granted,” and highlighted that artists represent “a threat to the autocrats and fascists of this world.”
Jury president Juliette Binoche reflected on “the hostages of October 7 and all hostages, prisoners, and those drowned who endure terror and die with a terrible sense of abandonment,” with a special reference to Palestinian photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, who was killed by an Israeli missile in Gaza in mid-April.
Before Quentin Tarantino declared the festival “officially open,” his fellow countryman Robert De Niro was presented with an honorary Palme d’Or by Leonardo DiCaprio, who has shared the stage with the film legend on numerous occasions.
Earlier, American actor Jeremy Strong, a jury member, had already characterized Donald Trump’s mentor, lawyer Roy Cohn, whom he portrayed in the 2024 film “The Apprentice”, as “the father of fake news and alternative facts.”
“The role of films is increasingly crucial in fighting these forces,” added the star of the series “Succession” during a press conference.
The ceremony also included a musical tribute by French singer Mylène Farmer to American filmmaker David Lynch, who passed away in January.
The event, which also featured the screening of “Partir un jour”, a French musical starring singer Juliette Armanet, was graced by numerous celebrities climbing the steps of the Palais des Festivals. Among them were American actress Eva Longoria and French actresses Géraldine Nakache and Aïssa Maïga.
Before the opening, the global echoes reached La Croisette on Monday night with an opinion piece published in the French newspaper Libération. Almost 400 film stars called for the cultural world to break its “silence” on the war in Gaza.
“We, artists and cultural actors, cannot remain silent as genocide occurs in Gaza,” wrote signatories including Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar and American actors Susan Sarandon and Richard Gere.
Global turmoil also reverberated with the screening of three documentaries about Ukraine, among them “Our War,” by French intellectual Bernard-Henri Lévy.
Coincidentally, the opening of the world’s largest film festival coincided with a significant milestone in the #MeToo movement in France: the sentence of former star Gérard Depardieu to an 18-month suspended prison term for sexual assault during a film shoot.
“When someone is desecrated as he is at this moment, it makes us reflect on the power certain individuals take on. And I think that power is elsewhere,” analyzed Juliette Binoche during a press conference, rejecting the “sacred monster” label often attributed to the actor.
The French actress and the other eight jury members will decide on the Palme d’Or on May 24, selecting from among the 22 films in competition.
