2022 Cannes International Film Festival

The genie came out of the bottle when this story about a woman – Tilda Swinton – experiencing supernatural phenomena breaks a bottle and Idris Elba emerges. The magical tale is directed by George Miller.

Melvil Poupaud, Arnaud Desplechin and Marion Cotillard attend the screening of Brother and Sister (Frere Et Soeur) during the 75th annual Cannes film festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2022 in Cannes, France. .

Tutte buona gente: Joe Pesci, Robert De Niro, Sergio Leone, James Woods, Danny Aiello. This distinguished group of talent was in Cannes with Once Upon A Time in America, which had its worldwide premiere in the Palais.

It is not often you hear a director admit that he expects spectators of his new film to vocally express their displeasure. “Is the film really going to be as bad as all that? ponders Michel Hazanavicius about the audience’s reaction to the first 30 minutes of his new film.

One of the hottest Hollywood couples - recently divorced Natalie Wood and rising star Warren Beatty - arrive in Cannes to promote Beatty's sultry drama All Fall Down. Directed by John Frankenheimer, Beatty starred as a handsome drifter who lives off the women he easily seduces.

Two years before making this appearance in Cannes for the first time, David Bowie had been his grand entrance in cinema, starring Nicolas Roeg's The Man Who Fell to Earth (he was Thomas Jerome Newton, the man who fell to Earth). Now, two years later, Bowie - and a team very easy on the eyes - was in Cannes to promote the David Hemmings-directed Just a Gigolo, the tale of a World War I hero who becomes a gigolo in Berlin, under the watching eye of a madam played by Marlene Dietrich.

The stars came out for Armageddon Time: Anne Hathaway, Jeremy Strong and even a surprise appearance by Julia Roberts along with their colleagues walked the red carpet at the world premiere. The story of Armageddon Time is a deeply personal one for writer/director James Gray, reminiscent of Kenneth Branagh's Belfast, as our HFPA reporter team agreed after attending the screening.

As part of its sponsorship at this year’s American Pavilion at the 75th Cannes Film Festival, The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (“HFPA”) announced one of its panels will feature directors making their directorial debuts with premieres of their films at the festival focusing on “Cannes First Time: Conversation” on Monday, May 23, 2022, at 2:00 PM (local time). “One of the greatest moments for any new director is to make their debut at Cannes and this year we have brought together these new directors hailing from new markets bringing some amazing new work to the global stage,” said Helen Hoehne, President of the HFPA.

The beaches of Cannes are populated with more than just scantily clad bathers, especially during the film festival. Film and production companies bring their talent to try and sell upcoming films to various foreign markets.

Cannes this year looks and feels the same as it ever was, just like David Byrne sings in, well, "Same as It Ever Was": parties every night, films galore all day long, stars, filmmakers, and press taking over the lovely beach town. It is as if the pandemic had never touched down on the Croisette - art and joy now take over fear and pain.