Yahoo News Postcard from Cannes #1 : Fiction is reality and reality is fiction
The Cannes Film Festival officially opened on Tuesday evening with a cheeky speech by hostess Camille Cottin, an emotional homage to Hollywood icon Meryl Streep and a disconcerting deadpan film about making a film. You could call it a perfect cocktail to kick off the 77th edition of the international event.
Drops of rain fell as guests, stars and jury members posed on the red carpet in front of the Palais des Festivals for the opening night.
But it wasn’t enough to dampen the spirits of the crème de le crème who filled the plush velvet seats of the Louis-Lumière theatre for a ceremony simultaneously broadcast in over 700 cinemas across France.
At 7.15pm sharp, the hostess of the soirée, Camille Cottin – of Call my Agent fame – appeared on stage, in a long black gown, slightly breathless from all the excitement.
“You may not be aware of this, but you are about to enter a parallel universe called the Cannes Vortex…where you plunge into darkness to find light”, she smiled mischievously, accompanied by the Worakls orchestra.
Living and breathing cinema
Without skipping a beat, she listed all the sorts of crazy things that happen in Cannes: sleepless nights, living and breathing cinema.
“We watch films all day long and we discuss them all night long. Nobody speaks the same language, yet we all understand each other. (…) It sounds insane, but it’s true.”
She then solemnly introduced the eight-member jury – four women and four men, who took their seats on the stage to warm applause.
Read more on RFI English
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