Cannes 2017 International Film Festival

After catching the attention of the international film circuit with a trio of powerful pictures firmly rooted in Taiwanese culture - Pushing Hands in 1991, The Wedding Banquet in 1992 and Eat Drink Man Woman in 1993 - director Ang Lee quickly did a turnaround and launched himself into a series of varied projects. First came his adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, and then, in 1997, another literary adaptation - the family drama The Ice Storm, writen by James Schamus from Rick Moody's eponymous novel and an official selection, in competition, at Cannes that year.

The news of the horrendous attack in Manchester hit Cannes on the very day the festival had set aside to celebrate its 70th anniversary. The horror and sadness were adressed with a moment of silence, a strong statement from the festival and the very thing terror and ignorance always try to extinguish - the power of choice, freedom and creativity.

“Strange” (sounds better in French: bizarre) is the first label that comes to mind after watching How to Talk to Girls at Parties, from John Cameron Mitchell, which is an official selection (out of competition) of the 2017 Cannes Film Fest. This romantic tale, which tries to mix the subcultures of punk and aliens in a sci-fi milieu, was one of the toughest press screening to get into (It took place at a small venue, Salle Bazin).

It was a somber start for day seven in Cannes as the Festival, like the rest of the world, awoke to the tragic news coming from Manchester. An official statement from the Festival read: “This is yet another attack on culture, youth and joyfulness, on our freedom, generosity and tolerance, all things that the Festival and those who make it possible –the artists, professionals and spectators– hold dear.

As Cannes passed its midpoint, one name seemed to be on everybody's lips: Nicole Kidman. The first of three films with Nicole leading the cast, Yorgos Lanthimos' The Killing of a Sacred Deer, shook the Palais with riotous applause, four minutes of which were dedicated to Nicole, who plays the wife of Colin Farrell's brilliant neurosurgeon, the pivot of a complicated family drama.

“The P in HFPA stands for press, but it could also stand for philanthropy”, said HFPA president Lorenzo Soria in his opening remarks on Sunday, May 21, at the Association’s annual Cannes party. This year the event served as a benefit for the International Rescue Committee (IRC), a nonprofit organization that responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people who have been devastated by conflict and disaster, to which the HFPA donated $500,000.

The nerves of the first days of Cannes are wearing off. People are having fun.

Adam Sandler, Tilda Swinton, Dustin Hoffman, Greta Gerwig, Ted Sarandos and many others were on hand for the HFPA’s annual philanthropy event at Nikki Beach. Last year HFPA presented a grant to Film Aid.

The first weekend of Cannes is party time par excellence - and the HFPA, which already throws the Party of the Year (a little thing called the Golden Globes.

Kristen Stewart is in Cannes making her directorial debut with her short film Come Swim. Stewart, 27, is not new to Cannes - she was here as an actress with Twilight and Café Society and again last year in Personal Shopper -  but this is the first time she's here as a director and screenwriter.