When a lady is presented the opportunity to celebrate her 75^th anniversary, you better believe she wants the event to unfold orderly, without chaos, on time and with good weather. While the past two years of the pandemic has humbled more than a few celebratory events, the grand dame of Cannes is coming out of her two-year celibacy by pulling out all the stops for her diamond jubilee. Easily recognized as one of the most prominent film festivals in the world, for this triumphant return to spectacle, the plastic comes off the furniture as this seaside resort along the French Riviera is poised to return to its cinematic glory; complete with major movie stars, well-noted directors and sunshine.

From May 17 to May 28, the infamous strip known as the Croisette will be inhabited by such prominent filmmakers as Tom Cruise, Idris Elba, Kristin Stewart, Tilda Swinton, Baz Luhrmann, Ethan Coen, Lee Jung-Jae, James Gray, George Miller, Marion Cotillard and Park Chan Wook as they walk the infamous red carpet to the Lumiere Theater promoting their latest artistic achievements.

Ask any regular attendee and they can attest to the eruption of energy and excitement that transforms this quiet community of 73,000 into the focal point of Earth. Whereas on a normal day, the opportunity to stroll effortlessly through the town’s eclectic array of boutiques, patisseries and beaches can be a sensory delight, the additional population swell of over 150,000 during the run of the festival, leaves the thoroughfares crowded, the wait long for restaurants and the pursuit of celebrity sighting a Formula One style endeavor to avoid serious collision.

The night of May 16 also proves to be the calm before the storm. Workman are putting final touches to the staging area of the Palais; securing last-minute fencing detail, which will prominently serve as a barricade between those who do have tickets and those who don’t. Freshly laid lane markers turn two-way passage into one-way drop-off opportunities and normal entranceways to entertainment venues around the Palais are reserved strictly for those badge-wearing attendees, with a plethora of security and volunteers maintaining enforcement.

While Cannes has also stood as a testament to tradition, try walking the red carpet without a bow tie and you will be escorted off, under the stewardship of Theirry Frémaux, the festival, along with the film market (where buyers and sellers of films come to make deals), has been making strategic attempts to modernize both in terms of culture and structure.

One such seismic shift for the normally rigid festival management has been their policy of absolutely no selfies on the red carpet. But this year with a sponsorship tied to TikTok and their more than one billion followers, one can only presume the message is embrace technology and spread the love. So while Tom Cruise might not be seizing the photographic moment, look for some cute and clever celebrities to get in on the act.

But it wouldn’t be Cannes without numerous conflicts lighting up the night sky. Besides the economic absence of some of the opulence of yacht soirees and over-the-top private parties, there have been fingers pointed from both critics and cinephiles, about access and labels of misogyny. First off. the ticketing site crashed, and the festival had to rush and install one for the international media to finally access screenings. Then, while only three of the initial eighteen films announced had female directors, the festival came back to proclaim that percentages of representation were consistent with past festivals but noted that since that initial offering, nine more female-led projects have been announced. Sadly, the same could not be said for projects helmed by Black filmmakers.

At his annual pre-festival press conference, Frémaux took the topic head-on. “It takes time for cinema to come into its own,” Elaborating on the dearth of sub-Saharan projects, he added, “Prior to the political problems they encountered, there were other African countries that showed cinema is for them. It isn’t just one edition; it takes five years; it takes a decade.”

“Don’t forget we’re emerging from two years of a pandemic, and some countries were struck harder than others,” he continued, elaborating that film production in France had been able to continue at a standard not possible in other territories. “Let’s wait a bit before we draw conclusions.”

As the 75^th edition of the Cannes Film Festival will be getting off to a grim and deadly start as they chose for the opening night presentation, the walking dead inspired comedy Final Cut by Michel Hazanavicius director of the 2011 Golden Globe and Oscar-winning The Artist. Coming out of a worldwide pandemic, the choice is either hysterically brilliant or cinematically tone-deaf.