Cannes Film Festival Adds TikTok As Official Partner

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorMeta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is defending its enlistment of a political lobbying firm to plant negative opinion pieces about rival TikTok in U.S. news outlets — as the social giant tried to deflect attention away from its own PR headaches.The Washington Post on Wednesday reported on Meta’s deal with Targeted Victory, a digital marketing agency that has worked on numerous Republican campaigns.

ABFF Ventures LLC, producer of the American Black Film Festival (ABFF),  announced that its custom-built online platform, ABFF PLAY, has broadened the company’s global footprint offering studios the opportunity to reach beyond the annual film festival to showcase content targeted to Black audiences.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentAfter several hours of heated debates, Iris Knobloch, the former boss of WarnerMedia France and Germany, has been chosen by the board of the Cannes Film Festival to become its first female president, as Variety has learned . She will succeed Pierre Lescure who was re-elected for a third term in June 2020 and is planning to step down after the upcoming edition.The German-born, Paris-based executive was elected by the board of directors of the Association Française du Festival International du Film, which brings together public authorities and film industry professionals, amid much controversy in France.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentKino Lorber has acquired North American rights to Mathieu Amalric’s “Hold Me Tight,” an engrossing family drama starring “Phantom Thread” actor Vicky Krieps. Co-produced and sold by Gaumont, the movie world premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival.Adapted from Claudine Galea’s stage play, “Hold Me Tight” follows Clarisse (Krieps), a mother who has abandoned her family for mysterious reasons and is coping with great emotional upheaval.

Tom Cruise is set to be celebrated at the Cannes Film Festival this May with a career retrospective, an in-person conversation on stage and the premiere of his eagerly awaited “Top Gun” sequel “Maverick: Top Gun.”The actor will reportedly be in attendance at the Palais des Festivals for a tribute event that will take in his 40-year film career. He will also take part in a conversation with journalist and Cannes associate Didier Allouch.As Variety reported earlier this week, “Top Gun: Maverick” will receive a special screening in Cannes — a huge coup for festival director Thierry Fremaux who has been keen to program the studio tentpole since 2020.

The Berlin International Film Festival has joined fellow events including Cannes and Venice in saying it will not ban Russian movies at the next edition of its fest, but will block official Russian delegates.

There’s no denying that Baz Luhrmann is going big for his new film, “Elvis.” From the over-the-top style and the “What the hell?” accent from Tom Hanks, the musical drama seems like a must-see event. And when you have such a stylish, uber-theatrical musical film, what better place to debut than at Cannes? READ MORE: ‘Elvis’ Trailer: Austin Butler & Tom Hanks Star In Baz Luhrmann’s New Drama About The King Of Rock & Roll According to Deadline, that’s exactly what’s happening.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent“Elvis,” Baz Luhrmann’s drama of the rock-and-roll legend starring Austin Butler (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”) and Tom Hanks, will world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, Variety has confirmed.The movie currently has June 24 release date, which means it couldn’t open the festival unless Warner Bros. Pictures decides to have it bow on May 17 to kick off the milestone 75th edition.

Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, according to an individual with knowledge of the project.The biopic starring Austin Butler in the title role will open domestically on June 27. Warner Bros.

Every year, the Cannes Film Festival is a showcase of some of the best films from around the world made by some of the most respected filmmakers alive today. Oh, and it’s also an event that loves to showcase at least one tentpole, blockbuster film.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentTikTok has become the official partner of the Cannes Film Festival on time for its 75th anniversary and will give the cultural event a wider-than-ever platform comprising one billion users around the world.While it banned selfies on the red carpet several years ago, Cannes is looking to draw global eyeballs and will provide TikTok users with some exclusive content from backstage, glamorous red carpet scenes and interviews with talents. Aiming to position itself as a top entertainment destination and content creator, the banner is also launching the #TikTokShortFilm, a global in-app competition of vertical short films – between 30 secondes and 3 minutes.

In what has seemed likely for quite some time sources tell Deadline Paramount and Skydance’s Top Gun: Maverick is expected to screen at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Speculation has gone on for several weeks with many believing that even with Tom Cruise’s busy schedule, things could be worked out and the film would likely land at the festival. Sources add the world premiere is still expected to happen in San Diego and that this would come after.

Angelique Jackson Tom Cruise’s “Top Gun: Maverick” has been cleared for takeoff with a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival.As Variety predicted earlier this month, the “Top Gun” sequel will screen during the French fest, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year.Described by Variety’s Elsa Keslassy as the “planetary blockbuster Thierry Fremaux has been dreaming of since 2020,” the Cannes director first aimed to get the movie secured for an out-of-competition slot before COVID-19 delays upended the film release calendar.Cruise’s long-awaited return to the cockpit had been further delayed by the pandemic, which pushed the movie’s planned release date several times. The film is now set to hit theaters on May 27, while the Cannes Film Festival runs from May 17 to May 28.

J. Kim Murphy The Kyiv-based Molodist International Film Festival has penned an open letter to the film community calling on other festivals to join in a boycott of Russian films as a response to the invasion of Ukraine by Russian military forces.The festival’s statement cites an ongoing effort by modern Russia to “separate culture from politics” and to “[use] that same culture to distract the West from Russia’s wars, human rights violations, censorship and persecution of political dissidents.”“There are Russian filmmakers and intellectuals who have been truly vocal in their dissent and criticism of Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine throughout these years, and we know some of them personally,” the statement reads.

Native sons and daughters of the American South have offered many a meditation on the soil where their lineage was replanted. But the observations and insights of documentarian Jon-Sesrie Goff form something that strikes with the potency of prayer.

Lest there be any lingering doubt, director Ramin Bahrani intones in narration over his first documentary feature “2nd Chance” that this is a metaphor for America. This isn’t particularly surprising given that his subject Richard Davis, a pioneer of the concealable bulletproof vest, straddles the country’s dark fascinations with violence and capitalism.

After being the first major film festival hit by the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic—the unfortunate timing couldn’t have been worse, March 2020 as the virus first started causing lockdowns around the U.S. — and having to cancel that year, SXSW has been arguably hit the hardest of all the festivals in North America.

At a whopping 246 minutes, Sergey Loznitsa’s feature documentary “Mr. Landsbergis” spans a duration longer than some non-fiction miniseries that pop up on streamers now.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorPopular short-form video app TikTok is blocking Russian users from posting video to the platform because of the country’s new law that threatens to severely punish the publication of “false information.”On Friday, Russia passed a law making it illegal to publish “false information” about Russia’s military. Violators face potential fines, forced labor and up to 15 years in prison.“In light of Russia’s new ‘fake news’ law, we have no choice but to suspend livestreaming and new content to our video service while we review the safety implications of this law,” TikTok said in a statement Sunday.