The 79th Cannes Film Festival launched on Tuesday, marking the start of 12 days of nonstop premieres that will culminate May 23 with the presentation of the prestigious Palme d’Or.
The French Riviera festival began with a tribute to Peter Jackson, handing the “Lord of the Rings” filmmaker an honorary Palme d’Or.
He was introduced by Elijah Wood, who played Frodo Baggins in the films.
The task of declaring the festival officially open fell to the 88-year-old Jane Fonda and Gong Li, the Chinese-Singaporean actor.
At the introduction of the jury that will decide the Palme d’Or — Cannes’ top honor — jury members spoke bluntly about holding a film festival during a time of geopolitical conflict.
The nine-member jury is being presided over by Park Chan-wook, the South Korean filmmaker of “Oldboy” and “No Other Choice,” who said that politics and cinema go hand in hand.
Other jury members include Chloé Zhao, Stellan Skarsgård, Ruth Negga and Demi Moore, who two years ago was celebrated in Cannes for her comeback performance in “The Substance.” James Franco was an unexpected guest at the opening ceremony.
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