In order
After the cancellation of the festivities in 2020 due to a pandemic, the Cannes Film Festival – huge relief – has lost none of its magic. The films are as powerful as ever, the directors as committed as ever, the actors still as pooches, the critics as ever so divided, the controversies as ever so futile, the luxury brands as ever present. And the welcoming committee, still impressive.
Tuxedo or tuxedo
Planted in the middle of the twenty-four steps leading to the entrance to the Palace, President Pierre Lescure and General Delegate Thierry Frémaux firmly await the guests, carrying the history of the Festival on their shoulders. The wearing of the tuxedo has been imposed on men since its first edition, in 1946. At the time, this one taking place in the casino of Cannes, the question did not even arise: since it was necessary to wear the tuxedo to play. in Russian roulette, it should also be worn to attend the screenings.
Eternal feminine
That day, the Minister of Culture, Roselyne Bachelot, came to lend a hand to the two friends. For the occasion, she chose to wear a white suit with covered buttons, thus taking advantage of the stylistic leeway offered to women in Cannes. If men have no other choice but to wear the tuxedo on the steps, they have the simple obligation to be in “evening dress”. This allowed, for example, Madonna, in 1991, to climb the steps in lingerie under a kimono dressing gown and Björk to dress as a swan during the 2001 edition of the Festival.
Scarlet strides
But why this eternal red carpet? Perhaps for the sake of history. In fact, in the room Agamemnon, by Aeschylus, dated 458 BC. AD, the wife of the king of Mycenae offers him a red carpet to celebrate his return from Troy. Later, in Antiquity, it was customary to cover the ground with purple fabrics during religious ceremonies … In Cannes, it was a little later – in 1984 – that the first covered times the steps of the Palais des Festivals.
Mask ball
If the Cannes Film Festival has lost none of its magic, one would even be tempted to think, at the sight of this image, that it has gained, by the grace of SARS-CoV-2, an unprecedented dimension. Roselyne Bachelot is holding her mask here in her hands while Pierre Lescure and Thierry Frémaux seem to be looking for theirs, unless they bury it in their pocket. Exactly, when to put it? When to remove it? When to change it? And can we do without it when we are fully vaccinated? The jury delivers its verdict this Saturday, during the closing ceremony.