The Cannes film festival will take place in the midst of possible strikes, protests, and warfare.

BY NR.BALOCH

Although there is usually a lot of noise during the Cannes Film Festival, this year’s event might be the noisiest and most uncomfortable in recent memory.
The 77th Cannes Film Festival will take place on Tuesday, among a backdrop of war, protest, possible strikes, and the intensifying #MeToo movement in France, a country that has for the most part rejected the movement.
Workers at festivals are threatening to go on strike. Protests are sure to follow the Israel-Hamas battle, which is particularly felt in France, which is home to the largest Arab and Jewish communities in Europe. Many people are still thinking about Russia’s conflict in Ukraine. When you include in the concerns that are likely to surface during Cannes, such as the growing uncertainty about the direction of film and the emergence of artificial intelligence,
It’s always been a good idea to be ready for anything in Cannes. The film selection is filled of mystery, inquiry, and question marks, befitting such turbulent times.
Shortly before his most recent film, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” opens in competition at Cannes, Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof was given an eight-year prison sentence by the Islamic Revolutionary Court. The film is still scheduled for Cannes.
Perhaps the most eagerly anticipated film is Francis Ford Coppola’s independently funded masterpiece “Megalopolis.” Coppola is accustomed to experiencing big drama in Cannes. More than 40 years ago, an incomplete version of “Apocalypse Now” won him his second Palme d’Or (tying). 
Not even the next presidential election in the United States will be far off. Ali Abbasi’s “The Apprentice,” which stars Sebastian Stan as a teenage Donald Trump, is making its competitive premiere. New movies from Sean Baker, Yorgos Lanthimos, Andrea Arnold, Paolo Sorrentino, and Kevin Costner will also be available. And there’s also “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” which is a potential explosive keg of a Cannes film. The picture, a rolling dystopian apocalypse, brings filmmaker George Miller back to the festival where he originally developed an obsession while serving as a jury.
“I became addicted to it because it’s like film camp,” says Miller, who fell in love with the immaculate film presentations and the international gathering of film at Cannes. “Really, it’s kind of the perfect movie. The once they declared, “Okay, we’re happy,”
But Judith Godreche might be the center of attention at first. The French director and actor made shocking claims about the filmmakers Benoit Jacquot and Jacques Doillon earlier this year, claiming they had sexually abused her as a child. Doillon and Jacquot have refuted the accusations.
Even though a large portion of the French film industry has historically been hesitant to support the #MeToo movement, Godreche has encouraged a more widespread reaction. She has made impassioned speeches about the need for reforms before a French Senate inquiry and at the Cesars, France’s version of the Oscars.
During the same time frame, Godreche also shot the short film “Moi Aussi” during a Parisian event where hundreds of people wrote her with their own accounts of being sexually abused. It opens Cannes’s Un on Wednesday.
It’s the most recent example of how #MeToo has affected the biggest film festival in the world, which began with an 82-woman demonstration on the Palais steps in 2018 and a commitment for gender parity in 2019. Cannes has frequently faced criticism for not allowing more female directors to compete, but this year the festival is fully supporting Godrèche and bracing itself for any #MeToo revelations throughout the season.
“For me, having these faces, these people — everyone in this movie — gives them this place to be celebrated,” stated Godreche. There’s something so historically significant about this site. It mystifies movies forever, in a way. Your movie was in Cannes as soon as it was there.”
This is the most recent instance of #MeToo’s impact at the biggest film festival in the world, coming after an 82-woman demonstration on the Palais steps in 2018 and a 2019 vow to promote gender parity. While the festival is fully supporting Godrèche and bracing for the likelihood of more #MeToo discoveries during the festival, Cannes has frequently faced criticism for not allowing more female filmmakers into competition.
“For me, having these faces, these people — everyone in this movie — gives them this place to be celebrated,” Godreche stated. There’s something quite historical about this site. It kind of perpetually mystifies movies. Your picture was in Cannes once it was there.”
A few of the directors attending the
It was a distinct location. It was lot more low-key and collaborative,” Schrader remarked as he took a moment to gather his belongings. “I recall (Rainer Werner) Fassbender stopping by with his partner to join us while Marty and Sergio Leone were sitting on the Carlton’s terrace. The sun was setting as we were all chatting. “This is the greatest thing in the world,” I thought to myself.
Since his 1988 drama “Patty Hearst,” Schrader hasn’t been in “the main show” (as a contender for the Palme d’Or) until “Oh, Canada.” Richard Gere (reuniting with Schrader decades after “American Gigolo”) plays a dying filmmaker who narrates his life story in the movie, which is based on a Russell Banks novel.
Following the announcement of the Cannes lineup, Schrader posted an old picture of himself, Coppola, and Lucas—all important characters in what was then known as New Hollywood—on Facebook with the message, “Together again.”
Francis and I will be there at the same time. When prize winners are requested to stay for the closing ceremony, Schrader adds, “There’s a question of whether either of us gets invited back for closing.” “I would hope that either Francis or I could come back closing night for George’s thing.”
A jury chaired by Greta Gerwig, who recently enjoyed enormous success with “Barbie,” will finally determine who wins the Palme (the handicapping has already started). However, there will be high expectations for this year’s slate.
However, up-and-coming directors usually end up defining a Cannes. Julien Colonna, the Corsican director and co-writer of “The Kingdom,” who resides in Paris, is one of the people who is probably going to make an impression this year. A violent coming-of-age story about a young girl (newcomer Ghjuvanna Benedetti) on the run with her father (Saveriu Santucci), a Corsican clan leader, is told in this Un Certain Regard standout.
Colonna states, “We wanted to propose a kind of anti-mob film,” alluding to the popularity of gangster dramas a la “Godfather”. “As a viewer, I find this to be really boring. I believe we should change course and suggest a different lens.”
Colonna’s first feature picture, “The Kingdom,” was inspired by his own fears surrounding the birth of his child six years prior. Despite being purely fictional, Colonna’s inspiration for the film came from a camping excursion he remembered years later, which he understood was “an entirely different matter for my father.” The majority of the movie was filmed in Corsica, just a few miles from his homeland.

“I grew up here,” a beaming Colonna says. It was here that I picked up swimming. The shower where she planted her kiss is the same shower where I planted my first.”