The Cannes Film Festival has taken a stand on the war in Ukraine and will exclude Russian delegations during its 75th edition in May.
“While the world is hit by a heavy crisis in which part of Europe finds itself in a state of war, the Cannes Film Festival wishes to give its full support to the Ukrainian people and to all those who find themselves on its territory. reads a statement issued on Tuesday. “As modest as it is, we add our voices to those who oppose this unacceptable situation and denounce the attitude of Russia and its leaders.
“In this winter of 2022, the Cannes Film Festival has entered its preparation phase. Unless the assault war ends in conditions that will satisfy the Ukrainian people, it has been decided that we will not host official Russian delegations or accept the presence of anyone connected to the Russian government.
While Russian delegations are banned, the festival hinted that individual filmmakers might still be welcome at the festival; however, it is still unclear whether their films will be selected for the competition or elsewhere at the festival.
Cannes said it hailed the courage of all those in Russia who take risks to protest Ukraine’s aggression and invasion, noting that it “will always serve the artists and industry professionals who elevate voice to denounce violence, repression and injustice, for the main purpose of defending peace and freedom.
In recent years, the French festival has shone the spotlight on a new generation of politically engaged Russian filmmakers like Kirill Serebrennikov, whose last two films, “Petrov’s Flu” and “Leto”, competed at the festival.
Serebrennikov, who is still officially under a three-year travel ban and has been accused of embezzlement by the Russian government, is set to return to Cannes competition this year with ‘Tchaikovsky’s Wife’. The film is produced by Hype Film, a Moscow-based company, with international partners including Charades Productions, Logical Pictures and Bord Cadre Films (“Monos”), while Mike Goodridge of Good Chaos serves as executive producer.
Earlier today, the EFA said it “strongly condemns the war started by Russia” and decided to exclude Russian films from the European Film Awards. Ukrainian filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa, who had expressed his dissatisfaction with a previous statement by the EFA which he deemed too lenient, sent a letter to Variety claiming that he had never intended to provoke this boycott of Russian cinema.
Loznitsa, who is a regular at Cannes, said “many friends and colleagues, Russian filmmakers, have taken a stand against this senseless war”.
“When I hear these calls today to ban Russian films, I think of these [filmmakers] who are good people. They are victims of this aggression like us,” said Loznitsa, whose credits include “Donbass” and “Babi Yar Context.” Loznitsa echoes the concern of many Russian filmmakers, as reported Variety.
Read Cannes’ full statement below:
While the world is hit by a heavy crisis in which part of Europe finds itself in a state of war, the Cannes Film Festival wishes to give its full support to the Ukrainian people and to all those who find themselves on its territory.
However modest it may be, we add our voices to those who oppose this unacceptable situation and denounce the attitude of Russia and its leaders.
Our hearts go out in particular to Ukrainian artists and film industry professionals, as well as their families whose lives are now in danger. There are those we have never met, and those we met and welcomed at Cannes, who came with works that say a lot about Ukraine’s history and present.
During this winter of 2022, the Cannes Film Festival has entered its preparation phase. Unless the assault war ends in conditions that will satisfy the Ukrainian people, it has been decided that we will not host official Russian delegations or accept the presence of anyone connected to the Russian government.
However, we would like to salute the courage of all those in Russia who took risks to protest against the assault and invasion of Ukraine. Among them are artists and film professionals who have never ceased to fight against the contemporary regime, who cannot be associated with these unbearable actions, and those who bomb Ukraine.
Faithful to its history, which began in 1939 in the resistance to the Fascist and Nazi dictatorship, the Festival de Cannes will always be at the service of artists and professionals who raise their voices to denounce violence, repression and injustice, with the main aim of defend peace and freedom. .
The Cannes Film Festival team
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