Lord of Hearts: Peter Jackson was awarded in Cannes and headed East

The legendary Croisette embankment in the south of France has once again become the epicenter of world cinema. On the evening of May 12, the 79th opening ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival officially started here. While the jury, chaired by Park Chang—wook, is preparing to evaluate the entries, the attention of the press is focused on the catwalk of stars from Demi Moore to model Frida Gustavsson. The latter came out in an outfit from a Russian brand. In parallel with the red carpet, the Marché du Film film market began its work, where new films from NMG will be presented and Pinocchio will be shown. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.

The reward from the Hobbit

Traditionally, on the first day of the screening, attention is focused on the red carpet at the Palais des Festivals. Among the first to appear at the opening were those who in the coming days will decide the fate of the competition films — members of the jury of the Cannes Film Festival, chaired by director Park Chang-wook, known to the audience for the films "Oldboy" and "Method of Elimination". Along with him, the judging panel included actresses Demi Moore and Ruth Negga, directors Chloe Zhao and Laura Vandel, as well as the star of "Sentimental Value" and Lars von Trier films Stellan Skarsgard.

Later, 63-year-old "Substance" star Demi Moore was caught in the camera flashes alone — in an elegant custom Jacquemus dress, completely embroidered with sequins, and a body kit from Chopard. Peter Jackson, the creator of the Hobbit films and the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, appeared next on the carpet. Looking ahead, at the ceremony, he received the honorary Palme d'Or for his contribution to cinema from Elijah Wood, the performer of the role of Frodo. The audience greeted Jackson with a long ovation.

Heidi Klum, a lover of outrageous outfits, chose a more relaxed look this time — the actress appeared in a pale orange dress by the Elie Saab brand with a large flower on her chest in the form of a brooch.

French actress Philippin Leroy-Beaulieu, who gained worldwide fame for her role as Sylvia in the TV series "Emily in Paris," chose a voluminous Saint Laurent dress.

This year, according to tradition, the red carpet was not without celebrity appearances in images from Russian designers. So, the model Frida Gustavsson, who recently joined the cast of the fourth season of "White Lotus", appeared in an outfit from YANINA Couture.

— Each YANINA Couture dress exists as an independent work of art and requires months of painstaking handwork. There are dozens of craftsmen behind each one, the most complex embroidery techniques, work with fabrics and textures, transparent mesh, applications and hand-made decoration. Every year we open our showroom in Cannes, where the heroines can get acquainted with the archives of the fashion house and find "their" perfect dress," brand founder Yulia Yanina shares with Izvestia.

However, anyone can feel like a star if they are willing to part with a certain amount. So, a number of agencies on the Internet offer to buy a ticket to the 79th Cannes Film Festival for 27 thousand euros (about 2.4 million rubles). The package price includes a red carpet on the opening or closing day (optional), a ticket to the nearby stalls, a personal car with a driver, photographs and publications in at least three publications. Flights, meals and accommodation are paid for independently.

Who's behind the palm tree

22 paintings are competing for the main award, the Palme d'Or. The honor of opening the show fell to the French director Pierre Salvadori. His new work is the burlesque romantic comedy "Electric Venus" starring Pio Marmai and Anais Demoustier. With the exception of this defiantly entertaining film, the program of the launched festival is focused on arthouse cinema with a focus on Asia, with almost no Hollywood studios. The artistic director of the Cannes Film Festival, Thierry Fremaux, attributes the shortage of blockbusters to the crisis in Hollywood caused by the effects of the pandemic, fires, social unrest and strikes by screenwriters and actors.

But there are a lot of regular Cannes favorites in the competition. Pedro Almodovar returns to his roots after the English-language experiment "The Room Next Door" with the tragicomedy "Bitter Christmas". This is the only film in the competition that has already premiered earlier, but this was not an obstacle for Cannes. The Spanish classic will present a drama about a female screenwriter trying to deal with her past. Many critics have already predicted one of the main awards for this film.

James Gray's "Paper Tiger" project caused no less excitement. Gray, known for his filigree approach to the psychological thriller, has assembled a powerful cast in the film: Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller. Experts expect the film to make harsh statements about the collapse of the "American dream."

From Korea and Japan to Russia

Asian cinema is represented by several heavyweights this year. Director Na Hong Jin brought to Cannes the thriller "Hope", shot with the participation of Western stars Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander. The Japanese humanitarian Hirokazu Koreda also offered his view on the future of man: his new film "The Lamb in the Box" explores the ethical boundaries of human interaction and artificial intelligence.

The festival will not be complete without large-scale historical paintings. Pavel Pavlikovsky presented the biopic "Fatherland", dedicated to Thomas Mann, where the main female role was played by the triumphant Sandra Huller of previous years.

In addition to the main screening, the Marché du Film film market will be held in Cannes these days. Art Pictures Distribution company will present new Russian films of NMG — "Hottabych", "Alpine Ballad", "Varvara-krasa", "Sleeping Beauty" and "The Abyss". A special screening of Igor Voloshin's painting "Pinocchio", which will be held on May 15, will be a separate event.

The film market is also announcing a new film starring Mark Edelstein, who won the Palme d'Or in Cannes two years ago. Now the Russian actor has played the main role in the European film "Becoming a Cape" about the creative and loving union of famous war photographers Robert Capa and Gerda Taro.