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| Artists of the Opening Ceremony of the 79th Festival de Cannes Photo: © Antonin THUILLIER / AFP, courtesy of the Cannes Film Festival |
"I thought it was my sons taking the piss," says Scottish router Paul Laverty when asked what Joss' reaction was to being asked to be on the Cannes Jury this year. It's a typically forthright answer from the Sorry, We Missed You writer who, perhaps unsurprisingly given his films, didn't hold back on political comment.
He began by noting we live in "dark times" and added: “You see so much systematic violence, genocide in Gaza and all these terrible things. To come to a festival, which is a celebration of diversity, imagination, tenderness, when there’s such vulgar, vicious, systematic violence. Everything is two-dimensional. So the idea of attending a festival where there’ll be contradiction and nuance and beauty and inspiration? That knocked me out, to be honest.”
The jury this year is headed by South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-Wook and also features directors Laura Wandel, Chloé Zhao and Diego Céspedes and actors Ruth Negga, Stellan Skarsgård, Demi Moore and Isaach de Bankolé.
Moore also faced political questions, deftly batting away the idea of succumbing to censorship.
She said: “Part of art is about expression. So if we start censoring ourselves, then we shut down the very core of our creativity. Which is where we can discover truth and answers.”
Park Chan-Wook, speaking via a translator added: “Just because a work of art has a political statement, it should not be considered an enemy of art. At the same time, just because a film is not making a political statement, that film should not be ignored.”
Laverty, meanwhile, returned to politics at the end of the press conference, as journalists started to drift towards screenings.
“I notice everyone's leaving,” he said: “Can I just leave one tiny thing?" He went on to congratulate the festival on its use of an "absolutely iconic" image from Thelma And Louise on its poster.
He went on to reference the fact that Susan Sarandon spoke about losing work because of speaking out on Gaza ahead of collecting the International Goya award in Spain. She said: “I was fired by my agency, specifically for marching and speaking out about Gaza, for asking for a ceasefire.”
“It became impossible for me to even be on television,” she added.
Laverty concluded: “Yes, and isn’t it fascinating to see some of them like Susan Sarandon, Javier Bardem, Mark Ruffalo blacklisted because of their views in opposing the murder of women and children in Gaza? Shame on Hollywood people who do that. My respect and total solidarity to them. They’re the best of us, I look up to them.”
