The 78th Cannes International Film Festival has witnessed the usual glitz and glamour, along with a special focus on politics, according to AFP.
The festival highlighted several controversial moments that took place during the first week.
Red carpet dress code
The 2025 festival has banned extravagantly large dresses and “total nudity” on the red carpet.
Hollywood star Halle Berry was the most high-profile victim of this ban as she was forced to change her wardrobe on opening night. This change came after she judged her dress by Indian designer Gaurav Gupta to be too long.
However, other people have broken the rules such as German model Heidi Klum, who appeared in a frilly pink evening gown with a train that was nearly three meters (10 feet) long.
Cruise show
After screening his film “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning,” Tom Cruise has achieved remarkable success in the festival.
Director Christopher McQuarrie stated that Cruise, who decided to perform dangerous scenes by himself, took his risk-taking a little far during a shoot in South Africa and could have died.
“He was laying on the wing of the plane. His arms were hanging over the front of the wing. We could not tell if he was conscious or not,” McQuarrie added.
Actors-turned-directors
This year’s edition features three works by actors who have recently started their careers as directors.
The event has commended Harris Dickinson, the 28-year-old “Babygirl” actor, for his first film “Urchin”.
Meanwhile, “Twilight” star Kristen Stewart, 35, has surprised audience with her talent behind the camera in “The Chronology of Water”.
Furthermore, American A-lister Scarlett Johansson is set to reveal her debut film “Eleanor the Great” to audiences on Monday.
Gaza War
On the eve of festival, approximately 400 top film figures signed an open letter condemning both Israel for committing “genocide” in Gaza and the film industry for its “passivity”.
Therefore, Gaza War has become a crucial topic during the festival.
Importantly, the festival has screened a wrenching documentary about Palestinian photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, killed in an Israeli air strike on her home in Gaza.
Before her demise, Hassouna collaborated with Iranian filmmaker Sepideh Farsi to produce a documentary on how people live in Gaza during Israel’s ongoing genocide.
The Israeli airstrike that targeted Hassouna’s family home in Gaza came just a day after Acid, a Cannes sidebar dedicated to independent cinema, announced the selection of her work. Moreover, the attack killed nine of her family members.
“If I die, I want a loud death. I don’t want to be in a breaking news story, nor in a number with a group. I want a death that is heard by the world, a trace that lasts forever, and immortal images that neither time nor place can bury,” Hassouna wrote this post before her death.
Trump era
The US President Donald Trump has been also one of the major topics in Cannes after stating on May 5 that he wanted to take 100-percent tariffs on movies “produced in foreign lands”.
As a response, actors, directors and producers have rejected the idea and described it as bad and self-defeating.
Meanwhile, others have joined De Niro’s calls to resist Trump, including Chilean-American actor Pedro Pascal, who urged Hollywood to fight those who tried to make them scared.
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