Preparations were in full swing just hours before the opening of the 75th Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday morning, when the red carpet was rolled out as celebrities arrived in the resort town.
Workers worked hard to install the red carpet on the grand staircase in front of the Festival Palace or Palais des Festivals, which will host the opening ceremony of the prestigious film festival on Tuesday night.
The final touches were made and workers unrolled the giant poster for the Cannes Film Festival’s Golden Jubilee, which this year features an image from The Truman Show.
Preparations: Preparations were in full swing just hours before the 75th Cannes Film Festival opened on Tuesday morning, when the red carpet was rolled out as celebrities arrived in the holiday town
Impressive: The huge red carpet was rolled out just hours before the lavish opening ceremony, which will be in full swing post-Covid
And celebrities like Eva Longoria have already arrived in the resort town ahead of the two-week annual event, which will screen the highly anticipated Top Gun: Maverick and King of Rock ‘N Roll’ biopic ‘Elvis.’
Eva was spotted on a balcony at the Martinez Hotel on the eve of the 75th annual Cannes Film Festival expressing her excitement at attending the event.
The actress, 47, went braless in a form-fitting silver dress that was ruched at the front to create a unique texture.
The garment had a turtleneck and was sleeveless, exposing her arms and shoulders to the warm evening air.
Preparations: Celebrities like Eva Longoria have started arriving in the holiday town ahead of the two-week annual event. On Monday, Eva was spotted on a balcony at the Martinez Hotel
She completed her look with a pair of silver strappy heels to add a few inches to her stature.
Eva accessorised with a pair of silver hoop earrings, with the jewelry showing beneath her wet hair.
In her Instagram Stories, the star posed for a photo on the balcony, capturing the golden light as the sun went down.
Eva captioned her post: “Hello my sweet Cannes.”
On Tuesday, Tyson Fury posed for photos with eager fans just hours before the opening ceremony, while model Matilda Lutz stepped out of the Martinez Hotel.
BEFORE: After Cannes 2020 was canceled entirely (pictured without the red carpet) and held under strict health protocols in 2021, the red carpet will return in all its glory on Tuesday night
AFTER: One of the first stars on the red carpet will be Forest Whitaker – the Oscar-winning ‘The Last King of Scotland’ star – who will receive the Palme d’Or of Honor at the opening ceremony
Last year: The 2021 Cannes Film Festival (pictured) was hit hard by Covid-19, resulting in a reduced event
Arrival: Forest (pictured at Nice airport on Monday), 60, won an acting award at the 1988 festival for his role as jazz legend Charlie Parker in Clint Eastwood’s Bird
Honoured: The 2022 Palme d’Or was unveiled by Chopard. The award will be presented to Forest Whitaker during the opening ceremony
After Cannes was canceled entirely in 2020 and held under strict health protocols in 2021, the red carpet will return in all its glory on Tuesday night.
One of the first stars on the red carpet will be Forest Whitaker – the Oscar-winning star of The Last King of Scotland – who will receive the Palme d’Or at the opening ceremony.
Forest, 60, won an acting award at the 1988 festival for his role as jazz legend Charlie Parker in Clint Eastwood’s Bird.
There will also be a number of TikTok stars on the red carpet this year after organizers sought to refresh their image by partnering with the video streaming platform, which sponsors an awards for short films.
Stars: On Tuesday, just hours before the opening ceremony, Tyson Fury posed for photos with eager fans while model Matilda Lutz stepped out of the Martinez Hotel
And the film chosen to open the festival will be Final Cut, a comedy love letter to filmmaking and z-list zombie films from the team behind the award-winning The Artist.
Its director, Michel Hazanavicius, said it was “a joyous celebration by the film people, which I hope will encourage others to get involved”.
On Wednesday, Hollywood star Tom Cruise will return to the film festival for the first time in 30 years as his much-delayed blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick makes its European premiere.
Long delayed by the pandemic, the sequel has garnered rave reviews from critics and gives Cannes a chance to honor Tom, described by festival director Thierry Fremaux as “someone who’s committed to cinema”.
A host of British stars including Letitia Wright, Joe Alwyn, Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton are also expected to attend this year’s celebrations.
Hosting: Workers were seen lifting the giant red carpet into place as they prepared the Festival Palace for the film festival
Red: The 75th Cannes Film Festival is set to become a massive affair after two years of being handicapped by Covid-19
Stylish: Model Matilda Lutz looked effortlessly chic in a cropped white shirt and black straight-leg jeans as she stepped out of the Martinez Hotel on Tuesday
In all, around 35,000 film professionals are expected to attend the festival between May 17 and 28 in hopes that cinema’s most glamorous event gets back on track after two years of being hampered by Covid-19 restrictions.
‘We are ready. City Hall just redid everything – the whole place – so let’s hope it goes well,” said Jeremie Tripet, manager of L’Avenue, a bistro just off the main street called La Croisette.
A major exception is the absence of Russians due to the impact of sanctions over the war in Ukraine and a decision by the organizers that pro-state delegates are not welcome. China is also expected to have a limited presence due to its ongoing Covid restrictions.
But otherwise, the festival is striving to take the pandemic into the past, with no mask requirements or health passes this year – and no restrictions on partying.
Preparations: The final touches were made and workers unrolled the giant poster for the Cannes Film Festival Golden Jubilee
Film buffs can immerse themselves in the usual feast of new releases and competition entries, braving the festival’s famously wayward viewers, who are never shy about cheering and booing during screenings.
There’s a lot of excitement surrounding Australian Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Presley biopic in hopes of recreating the excitement he created when he brought the can-can to Cannes with Moulin Rouge! 20 years ago.
Elvis, playing out of competition, sees newcomer Austin Butler slip on the King’s blue suede shoes. Tom Hanks plays his notorious manager, Colonel Tom Parker.
21 films are in the running for the Palme d’Or, including David Cronenberg’s latest body horror fable, Crimes of the Future, starring Lea Seydoux and Kristen Stewart.
The Canadian director told IndieWire that strikes are likely to happen “within the first five minutes.”
There are only five directors in the competition who hope to follow on from the success of last year’s winner, Titane, which made Julia Ducournau only the second woman to win the Palm.
Amidst all the glitz, festival director Thierry Fremaux said Cannes wanted to keep the spotlight on the war in Ukraine.
Looking good: Workers have been hard at work installing the red carpet on the grand staircase in front of the Festival Palace, or Palais des Festivals, which will host the opening ceremony of the prestigious film festival on Tuesday night
“Together we will have a great festival – we will think a lot about cinema without ever stopping to think about Ukraine.”
The latest film by Lithuanian director Mantas Kvedaravicius, who was killed by Russian forces in Ukraine last month, will be given a special screening.
He was filming a sequel to his famous documentary Mariupolis about the conflict in Ukraine’s Donbass region when he was reportedly captured and killed.
The main competition also includes exiled Russian Kirill Serebrennikov, who was unable to compete in his two previous nominations due to a politically charged embezzlement conviction at home.
Fremaux said the festival wanted to “help the Russians who are taking risks to resist” while offering “absolute and non-negotiable support to the Ukrainian people”.
The panel of judges selecting this year’s winners includes Indian superstar Deepika Padukone and Iran’s two-time Oscar winner Asghar Farhadi. At its head is the French actor Vincent Lindon.