CANNES FESTIVAL – He is the man who checks Brad Pitt, or kisses Kristen Stewart and Jessica Chastain… Pierre Lescure vto welcome the movie stars for the last time at the top of the steps this Saturday, May 27 in Cannes. Because the President of the Festival will leave his position he occupied since 2014.
He will be replaced next July. by Iris Knobloch, who notably chaired the French subsidiary of the Warner Bros France studio. Before the closing ceremony of the 75th edition of the Festivala look back at five dates that marked his presidency in the video at the top of the article.
2014: 1st prize at Cannes for Godard
In Cannes, the 2014 vintage is historic with the return of Jean-Luc Godard in competition for the Palme d’Or. An event for the Franco-Swiss director who had not presented a film in official competition since praise of love in 2001.
Son Farewell to language charmed the jury chaired by Jane Campion who awarded him the jury prize. He tasted the joys of victory for the first time at… 83 years old!
2017: the Netflix controversy
What would Cannes be without its polemics? In 2017, the Festival organization included platform films in the official selection for the first time. Two Netflix movies in this case: The Meyerowitz Stories by Noah Baumbach and Okja of Bong Joon-ho, winner two years later of the Palme d’Or with Parasite.
These two films triggered a wave of protest among exhibitors and will leave Cannes empty-handed. the Festival backtracked the following year by prohibiting competition for films that would not be released in theaters. Unlike the Oscars or the Venice Film Festival, the Festival has still not rewarded any Apple TV +, Netflix or Amazon Prime film.
2018: the rise of the steps #MeToo
For the first festival following the Weinstein affair, Cannes sends a powerful message. 82 movie stars and womena climb the stairs together. Among them, Cate Blanchett, Agnes VardaMarion Cotillard, Léa Seydoux…
82 women to represent the 82 films made by women, in competition since the first edition of the Festival, in 1946. Only 5% of films made by women. A symbolic action on the initiative of the French collective “50/50” once morest inequalities in the 7th art and Time’s Up, to help victims of sexual harassment.
2019: the Kechiche scandal
Another edition and new controversy in 2019. Six years following the Palme d’Or for The Life of AdeleAbdellatif Kechiche presents Mektoub My Love: Intermezzo. A feature film shot mainly in a nightclub with endless, very raw sex scenes.
The film shocks the Croisette, including the cast who discover it at the same time as the public. Outraged, the actress Ophélie Bau leaves the session in full projection. Three years later the film has still not been released in theaters and it will probably never come out.
2021: the 2nd Palme d’Or for a director
Four years following the explosion of the #MeToo movement, the year 2021 is very symbolic for Cannes. The jury chaired by Spike Lee awards the Palme d’Or to the gleaming, furious and sometimes gore, Titanium, by Julia Ducourneau.
The 37-year-old Frenchwoman then becomes the second woman to win the prestigious distinction, following Jane Campion in 1993 and her piano lesson.
See also on The HuffPost: While Cannes celebrates cinema, cinema attendance does not go up
