Cannes Diary 01: Jury Duty

by Elisa Giudici

Jury president Juliette Binoche. Photo © Elisa Giudici

A tense, and occasionally frosty, atmosphere marked the opening press conference of the 78th Cannes Film Festival. Jury members, especially President Juliette Binoche, faced numerous political questions, including sensitive topics like potential film tariffs, Donald Trump, and the ongoing events in Gaza.

In a departure from some past years, however, the jurors appeared more reserved and less willing to engage extensively on all topics. Below are the most relevant highlights from this initial conference, as well as some photos I shot, which provide an early look at the lauded artists preparing to watch all the films in competition and decide the Palme d'Or...

Jury President Juliette Binoche commented on the 18-month sentence for sexual assault against Gerard Depardieu, which was announced just hours before the press conference:

"What happened today is a result of the #MeToo movement in recent years. I don't think this would have been possible a few years ago. This will inevitably be meaningful and have an impact. 'Sacred monster' – those are two words that have bothered me. He's not a monster; he's a man who lost his aura due to events that occurred and were examined by a court. A cinema star is a man, a king is a man. For me, what is sacred is what happens when you create, when you act, when you are on stage. But we seem to have lost a grasp of the sacred, and now he is no longer sacred. This means we need to think hard about the power wielded by certain people who might abuse that power. The power should lie elsewhere."

On potential Trump tariffs on foreign movies:

"I understand President Trump is trying to protect American interests and we understood that from the beginning. We have a very strong filmmaking community on our continent, in Europe. I think we can see he's fighting and trying in many different ways to, let's say, save America and perhaps his own standing."

On the Role of Festivals and movie making:

"The role of the festival is to highlight artists, stories, and characters; to show human life in its most horrible and most beautiful aspects; to talk about these contradictions that inhabit us all. Yes, there are many monstrous things in human life, but life goes on. You wake up, get dressed, take your children to school, you laugh even when part of the world is plunged into darkness. I think this is what we must do: we must defend beauty, poetry, artists, and the will to live."

Halle Berry commenting on the new dress code on the Red Carpet:

Halle Berry & Carlos Reygadas. Photo © Elisa Giudici

"I had an amazing dress by [Gaurav] Gupta to wear tonight, but I cannot wear it because the train is too big. So, of course, I'm going to follow the rules. I had to make a pivot. But the nudity part [of the dress code], I do think is probably also a good rule."

Halle Berry on a female Bond and a Jinx spin-off:

"I don't know if 007 really should be a woman. I mean, you know, in 2025 it's nice to say, 'Oh, she should be a woman.' But I don't really know if I think that's the right thing to do. And no, I doubt there'll be a Jinx spin-off. There was a time that could have happened, probably should have happened. I would have loved for that to happen, but I think that time has passed."

Jeremy Strong on Donald Trump and his role in The Apprentice:

Jeremy Strong © Elisa Giudici

"I couldn't be here with a film last year; I was doing a play in New York. I think 'The Apprentice' really underlines the stakes we were discussing a few minutes ago. I see Roy Cohn essentially as the progenitor of fake news and alternative facts, and we're living in the aftermath of what I believe he created. In this time where truth is under assault, where truth is becoming an increasingly endangered thing, the role of stories, of cinema, of art – and specifically here at this temple of film – is increasingly critical. It can combat those forces and the entropy of truth, and it can communicate individual truths, human truths, societal truths, and affirm and celebrate our shared humanity. So, I would say that what I'm doing here this year is, in a way, a counterbalance to what Roy Cohn represented."

Hong Sang-soo on finally being able to be a juror:

"I don't know why I'm here. Anyway, I couldn't come last time they invited me for the film I made, so I'm happy I can be here this time. It's really a privilege to watch the films in competition. It's like you get to see the best of world cinema for the very first time. And also, being a cinephile, for me, I'm just so excited."

Carlos Reygadas on the state of Latin American cinema (though he resists regional labels):

Carlos Reygadas & Leila Slimani. Photo © Elisa Giudici

"What I care about is how humans can interpret, in an artistic way, what living feels like. I don't tend to think on a national, regional, or group level; it's just humans, always. But of course, I'm happy there are filmmakers from our areas who are always proposing interesting things. I think we should take more risks, always innovate more, think more about what we do. I know my films are probably not mainstream, you know, they're not widely distributed, but there are people who love them deeply, and that really is more than enough."

Payal Kapadia on the importance of Cannes for All You Image as Light and her career:

"Yes, our film coming here to Cannes, getting recognition, and all of you writing about it really helped us get the film out. Even the distribution in India was helped by that, so I'm really grateful. Because the one thing, as a filmmaker, is that your film should be watched by people in your own country and everywhere else. So that was a really big bonus for me. I am right now working on two more films based in my city, Mumbai, aiming for something like a trilogy but with different characters. It's a city that is complex and full of contradictions, and there is a lot for me to explore still…"

More soon. Cannes reports coming daily!

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