The Prague Post - Zelensky appeal beamed in to Cannes as festival rolls out red carpet

EUR -
AED 4.311517
AFN 80.459001
ALL 97.861046
AMD 449.221187
ANG 2.100718
AOA 1076.404609
ARS 1470.290435
AUD 1.791892
AWG 2.112899
AZN 2.000281
BAM 1.955013
BBD 2.36186
BDT 142.592634
BGN 1.956686
BHD 0.442465
BIF 3485.327509
BMD 1.173833
BND 1.49851
BOB 8.082783
BRL 6.553268
BSD 1.170034
BTN 100.194118
BWP 15.628646
BYN 3.828176
BYR 23007.121999
BZD 2.349665
CAD 1.604917
CDF 3387.681116
CHF 0.932257
CLF 0.029042
CLP 1114.483409
CNY 8.428413
CNH 8.427867
COP 4721.155341
CRC 589.9727
CUC 1.173833
CUP 31.106568
CVE 110.221126
CZK 24.648254
DJF 208.307083
DKK 7.461233
DOP 70.142976
DZD 152.223833
EGP 58.176561
ERN 17.607491
ETB 162.306368
FJD 2.634901
FKP 0.864841
GBP 0.86252
GEL 3.181417
GGP 0.864841
GHS 12.209078
GIP 0.864841
GMD 83.926443
GNF 10151.089069
GTQ 8.990421
GYD 244.622628
HKD 9.214546
HNL 30.588215
HRK 7.530838
HTG 153.529541
HUF 399.309142
IDR 19041.328036
ILS 3.884618
IMP 0.864841
INR 100.434424
IQD 1532.376982
IRR 49447.704165
ISK 143.407551
JEP 0.864841
JMD 186.993974
JOD 0.83225
JPY 171.616637
KES 151.365347
KGS 102.651416
KHR 4697.150304
KMF 494.183253
KPW 1056.423672
KRW 1612.059556
KWD 0.35849
KYD 0.974804
KZT 606.623365
LAK 25203.752916
LBP 104810.480117
LKR 351.667023
LRD 234.536643
LSL 20.882514
LTL 3.466023
LVL 0.71004
LYD 6.326482
MAD 10.564498
MDL 19.827108
MGA 5177.894824
MKD 61.530165
MMK 2464.470539
MNT 4212.368283
MOP 9.458295
MRU 46.636324
MUR 53.080621
MVR 18.074825
MWK 2028.375324
MXN 21.8418
MYR 4.989986
MZN 75.078902
NAD 20.850323
NGN 1793.616166
NIO 43.04305
NOK 11.834586
NPR 160.312236
NZD 1.953052
OMR 0.451335
PAB 1.169734
PEN 4.152629
PGK 4.907109
PHP 66.216227
PKR 333.957537
PLN 4.242845
PYG 9066.391117
QAR 4.265302
RON 5.073068
RSD 117.164962
RUB 91.794533
RWF 1683.276171
SAR 4.402767
SBD 9.786155
SCR 17.225646
SDG 704.881407
SEK 11.152469
SGD 1.50142
SHP 0.922448
SLE 26.414414
SLL 24614.690259
SOS 668.528197
SRD 43.725855
STD 24295.968071
SVC 10.234839
SYP 15262.325911
SZL 20.849523
THB 38.253444
TJS 11.317395
TMT 4.120153
TND 3.421238
TOP 2.749233
TRY 46.999799
TTD 7.942771
TWD 34.302327
TZS 3084.286863
UAH 48.893221
UGX 4199.328454
USD 1.173833
UYU 47.321164
UZS 14870.01764
VES 133.35479
VND 30639.969489
VUV 140.042854
WST 3.231986
XAF 655.690416
XAG 0.032209
XAU 0.000353
XCD 3.172342
XDR 0.815468
XOF 655.696
XPF 119.331742
YER 283.891327
ZAR 20.844629
ZMK 10565.899751
ZMW 28.454674
ZWL 377.973668
  • CMSC

    0.0900

    22.314

    +0.4%

  • CMSD

    0.0250

    22.285

    +0.11%

  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    69.04

    0%

  • SCS

    0.0400

    10.74

    +0.37%

  • RELX

    0.0300

    53

    +0.06%

  • RIO

    -0.1400

    59.33

    -0.24%

  • GSK

    0.1300

    41.45

    +0.31%

  • NGG

    0.2700

    71.48

    +0.38%

  • BP

    0.1750

    30.4

    +0.58%

  • BTI

    0.7150

    48.215

    +1.48%

  • BCC

    0.7900

    91.02

    +0.87%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.13

    +0.15%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    9.85

    +0.1%

  • BCE

    -0.0600

    22.445

    -0.27%

  • RYCEF

    0.1000

    12

    +0.83%

  • AZN

    -0.1200

    73.71

    -0.16%

Zelensky appeal beamed in to Cannes as festival rolls out red carpet
Zelensky appeal beamed in to Cannes as festival rolls out red carpet / Photo: Valery HACHE - AFP

Zelensky appeal beamed in to Cannes as festival rolls out red carpet

A parade of Oscar winners on Tuesday kicked off the 75th Cannes Film Festival, devoting special attention to the war in Ukraine as it returned to high-wattage form after the lifting of Covid rules.

Text size:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the gala opening ceremony as a surprise guest by video link from Kyiv, asking for the cinema world's solidarity with his people in the face of the Russian invasion.

"In the end, hatred will disappear and dictators will die," he told the rapt audience which gave him a standing ovation.

After two years in which the pandemic put a dampener on the world's top cinema showcase, the masks are off, health passes are no longer needed and stars from around the globe are ready to party.

Forest Whitaker, the 60-year-old who scooped an Academy Award for "The Last King of Scotland" and starred in cult films such as "Ghost Dog" and recent TV hit "Godfather of Harlem", picked up an honorary Palme d'Or at the opening ceremony on the Cote d'Azur.

He is a regular at the festival, having won its acting award back in 1988 for his role as jazz legend Charlie Parker in Clint Eastwood's "Bird".

"When I came to Cannes, I was acknowledged as an artist for the first time internationally," he told reporters.

"It really changed my life and the trajectory of my career in some ways, because it allowed me to be seen as an artist and not just a player."

Punters thronged the Croisette seaside promenade ahead of the first red-carpet premiere, "Final Cut", a comedy love letter to filmmaking and Z-list zombie movies from the team behind the Oscar-winning "The Artist".

Its director Michel Hazanavicius told AFP it was "a joyous celebration of film people, which I hope will encourage others to get involved".

- Tom Cruise: cinema devotee -

The 12-day festival will really turn on the jets on Wednesday with the arrival of Tom Cruise -- his first trip to the festival in exactly 30 years -- for the European launch of "Top Gun: Maverick".

The sequel, long delayed by the pandemic, has already been getting rave reviews and gives Cannes a chance to honour Cruise, described by festival director Thierry Fremaux as "someone who is devoted to cinema".

As well as the lighter fare playing out of competition -- which also includes Baz Luhrmann's much-anticipated rock'n'roll biopic "Elvis" next week -- there are 21 films vying for the Palme d'Or top prize.

One of the first to be shown will be "Tchaikovsky's Wife" by Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov, who left his country in March following a controversial embezzlement trial his supporters said was politically motivated.

Serebrennikov was unable to attend Cannes for two previous nominations due to the court case that banned him from leaving Russia for three years.

The final film by Lithuanian director Mantas Kvedaravicius, who was killed in Ukraine last month, will get a special screening.

He was filming a follow-up to his celebrated documentary "Mariupolis" about the conflict in Ukraine's Donbas region, when he was reportedly captured and killed by Russian forces, according to Kyiv.

Ukraine's beleaguered filmmakers will get a special day at the industry marketplace and one of its most promising directors, Sergei Loznitsa, will show "The Natural History of Destruction", about the bombing of German cities in World War II.

- 'Torments of the world' -

The head of the jury charged with selecting the winners this year, French actor Vincent Lindon, said the invasion of Ukraine had penetrated even the glamorous bubble that is Cannes, which he noted had been founded as artists' response to fascism.

The jury also includes Indian superstar Deepika Padukone, British actress-director Rebecca Hall and Iran's two-time Oscar-winning director Asghar Farhadi.

Lindon starred in last year's Palme-winning gore-fest "Titane", the only time a Cannes jury has watched a woman being impregnated by a car.

It was the sort of brash and radical choice that has ensured Cannes has maintained its edge for three-quarters of a century, having held its first edition in the immediate aftermath of World War II.

K.Pokorny--TPP