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Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker to be awarded the Honorary Palme d’or at the 75th Cannes Film Festival

Academy Award Winner Forest Whitaker To Be Awarded The Honorary Palme D'or At The 75th Festival De Cannes
Forest Whitaker © WPDI

Following Jodie Foster in 2021, Academy Award Winning Actor Forest Whitaker will be the honorary guest at the Opening Ceremony of the 75th Festival de Cannes, to be broadcasted live by France Télévisions and Brut. After Jeanne Moreau, Bernardo Bertolucci, Manoel de Oliveira, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Agnès Varda, or Alain Delon, he will be the new recipient of the honorary Palme d’or, which pays tribute to a sparkling artistic journey, a rare personality as well as a discreet but strong humanitarian commitment to key topical issues.

On this occasion, For the Sake of Peace, directed by Christophe Castagne & Thomas Sametin and produced by Forest Whitaker, will be screened in Special Screening Wednesday, May 18.

34 years ago, attending Cannes for the first time changed my life, and assured me that I’d made the right decision to devote myself to finding connectivity in humanity through film. It’s always a privilege to return to this beautiful festival to both screen my own work, and to be inspired by many of the world’s greatest artists – and I feel incredibly honored to be celebrated as part of the Festival’s momentous 75th anniversary.
Forest Whitaker
Honorary Palme d’or of the 75th Festival de Cannes

Forest Whitaker is a legend who leaves an indelible impression: on film, on viewers, and on government decision-makers.
His career path and his aura were fully revealed when he came to the Festival de Cannes in 1988 and appeared on the silver screen as the genius Charlie Parker, the visionary jazzman who took the saxophone to a higher, unprecedented dimension. He was beside Clint Eastwood in Bird, his first lead role, although he had already stood out in Martin Scorsese’s The Color of Money, Oliver Stone’s Platoon, and Barry Levinson’s Good Morning, Vietnam. At the age of 27, he was awarded the Prize for Best Actor at the Festival de Cannes for his Bird performance. The whole world discovered an actor with phenomenal power, in tune with a sensitivity that spells a form of grace, a mass of feelings that conveys human fragility through the voice and in the eyes.
“When welcoming Forest Whitaker to Cannes, I was able to meet and admire an artist with intense charisma and a luminous presence”, declares Thierry Frémaux, General Delegate. “His filmography is both dazzling and fully accomplished. I also observed closely his convictions as a man, and the attention he carries for the young generation. Through his faith in a better world and his commitment, he contributes to making it a better place. Rare are the artists that reach such a beautiful balance, and Forest achieves it and sets an example”.
“It is a tradition for the Festival de Cannes to honor those who made its history and Forest Whitaker is one of them”, adds Pierre Lescure, Festival de Cannes President. “He is this young actor that Clint Eastwood revealed in Bird and that man who broadens his view of the world to offer it to those who suffer and those who fight. The full honors belong to Whitaker. This Palme d’or is a gesture of gratitude from the world of cinema”.
Forest Whitaker returned six times in the Official Selection and four times in the Competition, with Bird and then Bill Duke’s A Rage in Harlem, Abel Ferrara’s Body Snatchers, and Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai which defies categorization and in which he plays the part of a melancholy hitman who lives his life according to the « Hagakure », the code of honor of medieval Japanese samurais. Chock-full of power and yet very flexible, he embodies a playful, pondering hero who is driven by mysterious forces.
Films such as The Crying GameSmokePanic RoomPhone BoothThe Last King of Scotland (Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Actor), Street KingsSouthpawRogue One: A Star Wars StoryBlack Panther, The Butler, and Respect show his multiple facets and eclectic choices. We can also mention Zulu by Jérôme Salle, closing the 2013 Festival.
In addition to his filmography as an actor, he has also directed 4 feature films (StrappedWaiting to ExhaleHope FloatsFirst Daughter) and produced such films as Ryan Coogler’s stirring Fruitvale Station presented in Un Certain Regard as well as the exhilarating Dope, and more recently Songs my Brothers Taught Me by Chloé Zhao.
Forest Whitaker’s artistic career sharply resonates with his humanitarian engagement. In 2012, he founded the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative (WPDI), an NGO which acts in Uganda, South Sudan, Mexico, South Africa, Cameroon, Chad, Gabon, and even Los Angeles. Working for peace and economic resilience in territories marked by armed conflict and violence, WPDI has helped more than one million and a half people, thanks to a network composed of more than 2,500 leading youths and 14 learning centers. Forest Whitaker is UNESCO’s Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation and a member of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Advocacy Group.

FOR THE SAKE OF PEACE

South Sudan is the youngest country in the world, at war with itself, with over 350,000 people killed since its inception in 2011. However, through this darkness, its endless cycle of conflict has hope: the determination of young women and men who refuse to give up on peace. Gatjang, a referee in a refugee camp of Juba, uses sports to bring a culture of peace to children and youths from adverse tribes. And Nandege, a young mother, becomes a successful mediator against all odds to address a lethal conflict that has opposed communities of the Kidepo Valley for generations. Through their stories, we gain awareness of the paths open to our humanity, which resonates across backgrounds and borders.

A film by Christophe Castagne and Thomas Sametin
Editing: Julien Lecat and Matthieu Bretaud
With Nandege Magdalena Lokoro and Gatjang Dagor
Produced by The Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative, Significant Productions, and R2

 

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Cannes

The Official Selection of the 77th Cannes Film Festival unveiled!

Announcement of the Official Selection 2024 © Mathilde Petit / FDC
Announcement of the Official Selection 2024 © Mathilde Petit / FDC

The Official Selection for the 77th Festival de Cannes was unveiled on 11 April at 11a.m., during the annual meeting with the French and international press, in the presence of Iris Knobloch, President of the Festival de Cannes, and Thierry Frémaux, General Delegate.

Discover the list of feature films selected in Competition, Un Certain Regard, Out of Competition, Midnight Screenings, Cannes Premiere and Special Screenings.

IN COMPETITION

Film d’ouverture

LE DEUXIÈME ACTE by Quentin DUPIEUX – Out of Competition
(THE SECOND ACT)

THE APPRENTICE by Ali ABBASI

MOTEL DESTINO by Karim AÏNOUZ

BIRD by Andrea ARNOLD

EMILIA PEREZ by Jacques AUDIARD

ANORA by Sean BAKER

MEGALOPOLIS by Francis Ford COPPOLA

THE SHROUDS by David CRONENBERG

THE SUBSTANCE by Coralie FARGEAT

GRAND TOUR by Miguel GOMES

MARCELLO MIO by Christophe HONORÉ

FENG LIU YI DAI by JIA Zhang-Ke
(CAUGHT BY THE TIDES)

ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT by Payal KAPADIA

KINDS OF KINDNESS by Yórgos LÁNTHIMOS

L’AMOUR OUF by Gilles LELLOUCHE

DIAMANT BRUT by Agathe RIEDINGER |  1er film
(WILD DIAMOND)

OH CANADA by Paul SCHRADER

LIMONOV – THE BALLAD by Kirill SEREBRENNIKOV

PARTHENOPE by Paolo SORRENTINO

PIGEN MED NÅLEN by Magnus VON HORN
(THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE)

UN CERTAIN REGARD

NORAH  by Tawfik ALZAIDI

THE SHAMELESS  by Konstantin BOJANOV

LE ROYAUME by Julien COLONNA | 1st film

VINGT DIEUX ! by Louise COURVOISIER | 1st film

LE PROCÈS DU CHIEN by Laetitia DOSCH | 1st film
(WHO LET THE DOG BITE?)

GOU ZHEN by GUAN Hu
(BLACK DOG)

THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE by Mo HARAWE | 1st film

SEPTEMBER SAYS by Ariane LABED | 1st film

L’HISTOIRE DE SOULEYMANE by Boris LOJKINE

THE DAMNED by Roberto MINERVINI

ON BECOMING A GUINEA FOWL by Rungano NYONI

BOKU NO OHISAMA by Hiroshi OKUYAMA
(MY SUNSHINE)

SANTOSH by Sandhya SURI

VIET AND NAM by TRUONG Minh Quý

ARMAND by Halfdan ULLMANN TØNDEL | 1st film

OUT OF COMPETITION

SHE’S GOT NO NAME by CHAN Peter Ho-Sun

HORIZON, AN AMERICAN SAGA by Kevin COSTNER

RUMOURS by Evan JOHNSON, Galen JOHNSON, Guy MADDIN

FURIOSA : A MAD MAX SAGA by George MILLER

MIDNIGHT SCREENINGS

TWILIGHT OF THE WARRIOR WALLED IN by Soi CHEANG

THE SURFER by Lorcan FINNEGAN

LES FEMMES AU BALCON by Noémie MERLANT
(THE BALCONETTES)

I, THE EXECUTIONER by RYOO Seung Wan

CANNES PREMIÈRE

EVERYBODY LOVES TOUDA by Nabil AYOUCH

C’EST PAS MOI by Leos CARAX                                                                 

EN FANFARE by Emmanuel COURCOL
(THE MATCHING BANG)

MISÉRICORDE by Alain GUIRAUDIE

LE ROMAN DE JIM by Arnaud LARRIEU and Jean-Marie LARRIEU

RENDEZ-VOUS AVEC POL POT by Rithy PANH

SPECIAL SCREENINGS

LE FIL by Daniel AUTEUIL

ERNEST COLE, LOST AND FOUND by Raoul PECK

THE INVASION  by Sergei LOZNITSA

APPRENDRE by Claire SIMON

LA BELLE DE GAZA by Yolande ZAUBERMAN

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Cannes

77th edition, the Cannes film festival launches its Immersive Competition

© FDC
© FDC

Because there are now original works that are pushing the boundaries of storytelling, the Cannes film festival  will introduce a new competition, the “Immersive Competition” for its 77th edition.

 

In 2017, Alejandro González Iñárritu made history at the 70th edition of the Cannes film festival with his groundbreaking virtual reality piece, Carne y Arena (Virtually Present, Physically Invisible) marking the first immersive work ever presented as an official selection at a major film festival. Recognized for his pioneering vision, Iñárritu received a special Academy Award for the project and continues to be a prominent figure at the Cannes film festival (even serving as President of the Jury in 2019).

Seven years since its first immersive selection and in line with the Marché du Film’s commitment to exploring new technologies and art forms through its innovative-focused programs, the Cannes film festival is thrilled to announce the creation of the new Immersive Competition for its upcoming 77th edition. The competition aims to spotlight the next generation of international artists who are redefining storytelling and inventing new narrative-driven experiences that move beyond the traditional two-dimensional cinema screen.

With the support of the CNC (National Center for Cinema and the moving image), the competition will feature immersive, collective and interactive works that utilize virtual reality, augmented reality and other cutting-edge technologies to transcend conventional storytelling and transport audiences to other worlds, narratives and eras.

For its inaugural edition, a committee of industry experts and Cannes film festival representatives, under the supervision of the General Delegate of the Cannes film festival, will select eight immersive works in competition. Additionally, a curated selection of non-competitive works, illustrating the synergy between immersive experiences and cinema, will complement the program.

The selected works will be accessible to Cannes film festival and Marché du Film attendees throughout the Festival, from May 15 to 24. The works will be displayed in a 1300m2 exhibition space at the Cannes Cineum – the cinema complex of Cannes La Bocca – and the Georges Méliès Campus, a university institution dedicated to creative writing and film.

The in-competition works will compete for the Best Immersive Work prize. An international jury composed of notable figures from cinema and immersive art will present the award at a special closing ceremony, celebrating the creativity and innovation of immersive artists.

Alongside the Immersive Competition, the Marché du Film will continue to explore the commercial and technical aspects of the immersive sector through a lineup of conferences, expert panels, demonstrations and professional networking events.

In what promises to be already a significant year, the City of Cannes is also set to announce the launch of Cannes Immersive, patronised by artist Jean-Michel Jarre and supported by the CNC. This new program aims to position Cannes as a global hub for immersive creations and the emerging artistic domain of artificial intelligence (AI). Cannes Immersive will unfold through the launch of innovative events, strategically designed to elevate Cannes’ status as a premier destination for immersive cultural experiences, which will be seamlessly integrated into both existing and future Cannes events. Furthermore, it will establish a permanent immersive venue in Cannes, serving as a showcase for the most exceptional immersive creations, whether assisted or generated by AI.

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Cannes

George Lucas, Honorary Palme d’or of the 77th Cannes Film Festival

George Lucas © JAKS Productions. All rights reserved
George Lucas © JAKS Productions. All rights reserved

A Hollywood legend, the director, screenwriter and producer George Lucas will receive the Honorary Palme d’or on Saturday, May 25, at the Closing Ceremony of the 77th Cannes film festival, to be broadcast live on French TV channel France 2.

 

At the mere mention of his name, a whole section of the Seventh Art lights up, and you can hear a few unforgettable music notes (by John Williams!). Inseparable from the Star Wars and Indiana Jones sagas, George Lucas has forever given the blockbusters an illustrious history, and audiences the world over unrivalled pleasure.

“The Festival de Cannes has always held a special place in my heart. I was surprised and elated when my first film, THX-1138, was selected to be shown in a new program for first time directors called the Directors’ Fortnight. Since then, I have returned to the festival on many occasions in a variety of capacities as a writer, director and producer. I am truly honored by this special recognition which means a great deal to me.”

George Lucas’ debut in the film industry was marked by his close collaboration with Francis Ford Coppola, who helped him produce THX 1138 (1971), adapted from one of his experimental short films made at the University of Southern California. From his very first feature, George Lucas staged the themes that are dear to him: science fiction to denounce a society of surveillance, using love to fight fate and conformity, and reversing moral values to challenge the role of good and evil.

With American Graffiti, an ode to American youth, George Lucas revealed Harrison Ford and directed his first major success which enabled him to embark on his ambitious saga.

A visionary intergalactic odyssey that reinvented the codes of cinematic genres as part of the New Hollywood movement, Star Wars is nothing short of mythology, a study that has fascinated George Lucas since his university days, in the construction of characters and plots and the breadth of its cultural reach. Like Tolkien in literature, he imagined a universe, with its geography, populations, languages, moral values and even its vehicles. This exceptional ambition, which initially frightened 20th Century Fox’s producers and led to a grueling post-production period, was nonetheless the recipe for unprecedented success: the film captivated the American crowds and became a worldwide socio-cultural phenomenon, which continues to this day.

In the space of 40 years, George Lucas built a Hollywood empire through the nine episodes of the saga — four of which he directed himself. With his company Lucasfilm and its many subsidiaries, acquired by The Walt Disney Company in 2012, George Lucas touched on everything. His unflagging passion for technology made him one of the pioneers of the visual effects industry: he founded Industrial Light & Magic and helped develop many new visual technologies, including the computer-assisted camera. In sound, he contributed to the evolution of stereo through his company THX. He also founded the famous animation studio Pixar. Moreover, George Lucas is an outstanding producer: in addition to the three Star Wars trilogies, he is associated with the development of mythical films by other directors, from Akira Kurosawa’s Kagemusha to the Indiana Jones saga, which he created.

The Honorary Palme d’or will be presented to him on stage at the Grand Théâtre Lumière during the Closing Ceremony on Saturday May 25, 2024.

The Festival de Cannes is delighted to pay tribute to one of the greatest figures of contemporary cinema, a man with an extraordinary career, who brings together great entertainment and innovation, mythology and modernity and cinephilia and technology.

The Closing Ceremony of the 77th Festival de Cannes will be broadcast live on France Télévisions and Brut. on Saturday, May 25. Camille Cottin will serve as Master of Ceremony.

The 77th Festival de Cannes will take place from Tuesday May 14 to Saturday May 25, 2024.

The Official Selection will be unveiled on Thursday, April 11, 2024.

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