Iranian Director Mohammad Rasoulof Banned From Leaving Iran to Serve on Cannes Jury – Report

Ukraine war and the momentous burst of rebellion against the Iranian regime prompted by the death of Mahsa Amini are reverberating profoundly at the Cannes Film Festival. At the festival’s opening ceremony on Tuesday night, legendary French actress Catherine Deneuve paid tribute to the war’s victims by reciting a poem from Ukrainian poet Lessia Oukraïnka, solemnly declaring: “I no longer have either happiness or freedom, only one hope remains to me: to return one day to my beautiful Ukraine.” One year ago, Cannes got off to an emotional start with remarks from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Viola Davis was serving up looks on the red carpet at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival!

CANNES — Johnny Depp seemed back in full celebrity mode on Tuesday, signing autographs and taking pictures with fans before the premiere of the Cannes Film Festival’s opening film “Jeanne du Barry,” which marks the actor’s first major role since his high-profile defamation trial.

EXCLUSIVE: Shia LaBeouf has joined action thriller Mace, directed by Jon Amiel from a script by David Chisholm. Trevor Jackson (Grown-ish, Superfly) will co-star. Myriad Pictures is shopping the project to buyers here in Cannes this week. 

CANNES (Reuters) -Johnny Depp seemed back in full celebrity mode on Tuesday, signing autographs and taking pictures with fans before the premiere of the Cannes Film Festival's opening film "Jeanne du Barry," which marks the actor's first major role since his high-profile defamation trial. Fans in the French Riviera city were seen hoisting signs that read "Congrats, Johnny" and "We are sorry" with a heart. The festival delivered on its glamorous reputation with a parade of stars including Mads Mikkelsen, a blue-haired Helen Mirren and John C.

So many stars walked the red carpet at the premiere screening of Johnny Depp‘s new movie Jeanne du Barry, which is kicking off the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

EXCLUSIVE: Gillian Anderson and Jason Issacs will star in the film adaptation of Raynor Winn’s bestselling memoir The Salt Path. Marianne Elliott, the Tony Award and Olivier Award winning theater artist, is to make her screen directing debut on the project which will be a nice one in the Cannes market for Rocket Science. Black Bear has already snapped up UK rights.

Good afternoon Insiders, Max Goldbart here, and with Cannes just a few days away we’ve got plenty for you to digest in this week’s newsletter. You can subscribe here.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund, whose movies “The Square” and “Triangle of Sadness” have won two of the past five Palmes d’Or, will attend Cannes this year not as a competitor but as jury president. Over a lively phone chat, Östlund (who lives on Majorca with his fashion-photographer wife, Sina Görtz, and their son) shares his wildest aspirations for the festival. What made you want to take on the role of jury president? When you look at the history of who has been the president of the Cannes Film Festival’s jury, you get humbled. My biggest inspirations come from the directors connected to this festival. And the way Cannes is fighting for the intellectual European perspective of cinema is something that is important and unique in the world.

EXCLUSIVE: Tom Hiddleston (Thor franchise) and Mark Hamill (Star Wars) are set to star in new Stephen King adaptation The Life Of Chuck, which will be a hot package at the upcoming Cannes market.

The Amsterdam-based International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk (ICFR) has called on Iran to lift a travel ban on director Mohammad Rasoulof.

Addie Morfoot Contributor Hot Docs marked the first film festival that “Silent House” director Farnaz Jurabchian has been able to attend in-person since the documentary made its world premiere at IDFA in November. For months Farnaz Jurabchian and her co-director/brother Mohammadreza Jurabchian were banned from leaving Iran, which prevented the duo from attending prestigious fests including IDFA, France’s FIPADOC, Brazil’s It’s All True and the Luxemburg Intl. Film Festival. Iranian authorities considered the international partnerships that both directors formed in order to make “Silent House” a national security risk.

The strike has begun, Insiders. The industrial action, the first in the U.S. since 2007-08, dominated news coverage in film and TV this week but there’s been plenty more going around the world. Jesse Whittock here to take you through. Be sure to sign up for the newsletter here.

Mohammad Rasoulof’s hopes to attend the Cannes Film Festival have been dashed.

Dissident Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof has confirmed that he was unable to accept an invitation from the Cannes Film Festival to participate in its Un Certain Regard jury after being barred from leaving Iran.

The 76th Festival de Cannes already had a jury president in two-time Palme d’Or winner Ruben Ostlünd. It now has eight more members to fill out its jury.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International The Cannes jury class of 2023 has finally been unveiled. The festival has rounded out its jury — led this year by “Triangle of Sadness” director and 2022 Palme d’Or winner Ruben Östlund — with a star-studded roster of actors and directors. Jury members include: actors Paul Dano and Brie Larson, Moroccan director Maryam Touzani, French actor Denis Ménochet, British-Zambian screenwriter and director Rungano Nyoni, Afghan author Atiq Rahimi, Argentinian director and screenwriter Damián Szifrón and director Julia Ducournau, who won the Palme d’Or in 2021 for her film “Titane.”

The Cannes Film Festival has added Jean-Bernard Marlin’s Marseille second feature Salem to its Un Certain Regard line-up devoted to new cinematic voices.

Cannes film festival. He will be joined by French director and screenwriter Alice Winocour, German actress Paula Beer, French-Cambodian director and producer Davy Chou and Belgian actress Émilie Dequenne.