The story of a courtesan at the court of King Louis XV presented in the film “The King’s Mistress”, directed by Maiwenn, inaugurated the 76th Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday evening. The cast – apart from the director herself – includes Johnny Depp, Melvil Poupaud, Pierre Richard and Pascal Greggory.
On Tuesday evening, the audience gathered at the Grand Theater Lumiere watched the non-competing film “The King’s Mistress”, directed by Maiwenn, about Jeanne Vaubernier, a young “of the people” who became the royal favourite. “Hungry for culture and pleasure, she uses her intelligence and charm to climb the social ladder. She becomes the favorite of King Louis XV, who – unaware of her status as a courtesan – thanks to her regains his appetite for life. They fall madly in love with each other. Due to her habits and etiquette, Jeanne moves to Versailles, where her arrival scandalizes the court.
The cast – apart from Maiwenn and Johnny Depp – includes Melvil Poupaud, Pierre Richard and Pascal Greggory.
The film with Johnny Depp inaugurated the 76th Cannes FestivalGuillaume Horcajuelo/PAP/EPA
21 films compete at Cannes
21 titles will compete in the main competition, including “The Old Oak” by Ken Loach, “Rapito” by Marco Bellocchio, “Perfect Days” by Wim Wenders, “A Brighter Tomorrow” by Nanni Moretti, “Fallen Leaves” by Aki Kaurismaki, “Monster” Hirokazu Koreeda and “May December” by Todd Haynes.
Also nominated for the Palme d’Or were “Four Daughters” by Kaouther Ben Hani, “Asteroid City” by Wes Anderson, “About Dry Grasses” by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, “The Pot-au-Feu” by Anh Hung Trana, “La Chimera” by Alice Rohrwacher, “Black Flies” by Jean-Stephane Sauvaire and “Youth (Spring)” by Wang Bing.
Preparations for the Cannes Film FestivalReuters
“Homecoming” by Catherine Corsini, “Last Summer” by Catherine Breillat, “Banel & Adama” by Ramaty-Toulaye Sy, “Club Zero” by Jessica Hausner, “Anatomy of a Fall” by Justine Triet, “The Zone of Interest” also have a chance for an award. Jonathan Glazer and “Firebrand” by Karim Ainouz.
Polish accents in Cannes
In addition to the competition, there will be Killers of the Flower Moon by Martin Scorsese, Indiana Jones and the Artifact of Destiny by James Mangold and The Idol by Sam Levinson. Special screenings of “Pictures of Ghosts” by Kleber Menconca Filho, “Occupied City” by Steve McQueen and the medium-length film “Strange Way of Life” by Pedro Almodovar are also planned. After last year’s success of “IO” by Jerzy Skolimowski, which left Cannes with the Jury Prize, this time no Polish production got a chance for the Palme d’Or. However, in the main competition we will find a native accent – the cinematographer for Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” is Łukasz Żal.
The attention of the Polish audience is also directed to the short film competition, in which “As It Was” by Damian Kocur and Anastasia Solonevych was among 11 films from various parts of the world. This is the story of Lera, which since the outbreak war in Ukraine lives in Berlin.
About the experiences of people who leave a war-torn country Ukraineis also the story of Maciej Hamela’s documentary “From Where To”, which will be presented in the ACID (Association du Cinéma Indépendant pour sa Diffusion) section.
Michael Douglas with the Honorary Palme d’Or
During the opening ceremony of the festival, the American actor and producer Michael Douglas, the laureate, received the Golden Palm of Honor Oscar from 1988 for her role in “Wall Street”. The artist recently visited the Cannes Festival in 2013 with the film “The Great Liberace”, and he appeared here for the first time in 1979, with “The Chinese Syndrome”.
– Thank you for this amazing honor. This award means a lot to me. There are hundreds of festivals around the world, but there is only one Cannes. And he’s seventy-six now, which means I’m even older than this festival. I have many great memories from here. I remember the joy of meeting people from different countries and cultures – said Douglas.
The Golden Palm of Honor was received by the American actor and producer Michael DouglasSebastien Nogier/PAP/EPA
The actor admitted that he himself began to wonder how it happened that he lasted so long in the profession. He cited three seasons spent on stage work in Connecticut as his foundations, four years on the series “Streets of San Francisco” with his acting mentor Karl Malden and his father Kirk Douglas.
“I would like to thank all the filmmakers I’ve worked with, the crews, the hundreds of people … and also my wife and daughter Carys who are here with me today for their love and support,” he concluded.
Ostlund chairman of the jury
The jury of the main competition was presented on the stage. This time, the chairmanship was entrusted to the Swedish director, screenwriter and actor Ruben Ostlund, who has won two Golden Palms – in 2017 for “The Square” and in 2022 for “In the Triangle”.
He will be joined by French director and screenwriter Julia Ducournau, Argentinian director and screenwriter Damián Szifron, Afghan-French director and screenwriter Atiq Rahimi, American actor, director and screenwriter Paul Dano, American actress, director and producer Brie Larson, Zambian director and screenwriter screenwriter Rungano Nyoni, French actor Denis Ménochet and Moroccan screenwriter and director Maryam Touzani.
Main photo source: Guillaume Horcajuelo/PAP/EPA