Red carpet rolls out on the Riviera as Cannes prepares for revived film festival

After a cancelled 2020 edition and a scaled-back gathering last year, the Cannes Film Festival rolled out the red carpet for what organisers hope will be a fully resuscitated French Riviera spectacular.

The 75th Cannes Film Festival is set to open on Tuesday night with the premiere of Michel Hazanavicius’ zombie comedy Final Cut.

Over the next 12 days, 21 films will vie for the festival’s prestigious top award, the Palme d’Or, while a handful of high-profile Hollywood titles, including Top Gun: Maverick, Elvis and Three Thousand Years Of Longing, will also launch in Cannes.

“This year, everyone wanted to come to Cannes,” said Thierry Fremaux, artistic director of the festival, ahead of the opening.

“Everyone wanted to meet again.”

This year’s Cannes will officially begin on Tuesday evening with an opening ceremony preceding the premier of Final Cut, which was renamed from its original title, Z, after Ukrainian protesters noted that the letter Z to some symbolizes support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The war in Ukraine is expected to be a regular presence in Cannes.

The festival has barred Russians with ties to the government.

Set to screen are several films from prominent Ukrainian filmmakers, including Sergei Loznitsa’s documentary The Natural History Of Destruction.

Footage shot by Lithuanian filmmaker Mantas Kvedaravicius before he was killed in Mariupol in April will also be shown by his fiancee, Hanna Bilobrova.

On Tuesday, Cannes will also present the jury that will decide this year’s Palme d’Or, the biggest prize.

Serving alongside jury president Vincent Lindon, the French actor, are: Deepika Padukone, Rebecca Hall, Asghar Farhadi, Trinca, Ladj Ly, Noomi Rapace, Jeff Nichols and Joachim Trier.