For those descending onto Cannes, be prepared to enter the mecca of cinematic glamour—as today launches one of the most anticipated events in the world, the Cannes Film Festival. Running until the 26th of May, the 66th edition of the festival promises to unite the world’s top stars along with the international media and pack them onto a strip of beach that will be bursting at the seams with fashion and lavish opulence. Leonardo DiCaprio, rarely seen on the Croisette (Cannes’ famed corniche), will walk today’s red carpet after a six-year hiatus, for the screening of Baz Lurhman’s The Great Gatsby, officially opening the ceremony.
Presiding over the film festival’s jury—consisting of the likes of Indian actress, Vidya Balan; Australian Actress and Producer, Nicole Kidman; French Actor and Director, Daniel Auteil; and Austrian Actor, Christoph Waltz—is American Director, Producer, and Scriptwriter, Steven Spielberg. Selecting the winners from the 18 films in competition, the jury will announce on May 26th which film will take home the coveted Palm d’Or, a prize beautifully crafted by Chopard.
This year’s line up of “Cannes Classics”, a program which showcases great works from the past, will include the screening of the digitally restored epic film, Cleopatra (1963), in partnership with Bulgari and 20th Century Fox. This special screening, marking the film’s 50th anniversary, will take place in the presence of Richard Burtons’ daughter, Kate Burton, and Chris Wilding, Elizabeth Taylor’s son. The event will be hosted on May 21st by Oscar-nominee actress, Jessica Chastain.
May 23rd, the annual Cinema Against Aids amFAR Gala will be hosted at the famed Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes. Editor and fashion icon, Carine Roitfeld, along with supermodel, Naomi Campbell, will stage a runway show featuring Cleopatra-inspired, all-gold looks designed especially for the event. Roberto Cavalli has been slotted to prepare the décor. After several years of the dreary economic crisis looming over everyone’s heads, it would appear that the world of fashion and cinema are once more ready to celebrate all that is opulent.
“Since it is the 20th year of this event (Cinema Against Aids), I thought people should walk away with an incredible memory,” Roitfeld told WWD. “For me, this is really a tribute to Elizabeth Taylor. When you think of her in Cleopatra, you have this very powerful image of gold and beauty.”
Style.com/Arabia will be reporting live from Cannes. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram (@StyleArabia) for live updates, and check back on www.style.com/arabia for our exclusive interviews and diaries from the Cannes Film Festival.
