France

Cannes 2025: ‘The Six Billion Dollar Man’ Revisits the Julian Assange Story

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has recovered well after his release from jail last year, his wife told AFP ahead of the premiere of a documentary Wednesday that includes never-seen-before footage of the whistleblower. Assange is at the Cannes Festival to promote the documentary by American filmmaker Eugene Jarecki, who said he was trying to ...

Kristen Stewart Breaks Silence with Bold, Unflinching Debut

"I can't wait to make 10 more movies," Kristen Stewart told AFP the morning after making what Rolling Stone called "one hell of a directorial debut" at the Cannes Film Festival. Nor can film critics, judging from the rave reviews of The Chronology of Water, her startling take on the American swimmer Lidia Yuknavitch's visceral memoir of surviving ...

French Town Breaks Smurf Number World Record

The small Breton town of Landerneau set a new world record on Saturday for the largest gathering of Smurfs, with 3,076 people dressed as the iconic blue characters, according to the organizers. The achievement comes after two failed attempts over the past five years.

Cannes 2025: ‘Mama’ Shines a Light on Migrant Maids

Director Or Sinai didn't have to go far to find the subject of her acclaimed debut film about the secret lives of the millions of women who support their families back home by being domestic workers abroad. She was chatting to the "wonderful Ukrainian woman" who looks at her mother, who has Parkinson's Disease, when the housekeeper started ...

Boualem Sansal: A Silenced Voice Honored in Paris

Boualem Sansal, who has been jailed in Algeria for six months, was awarded the international Cino del Duca Prize on Wednesday. The French literary prize honors "the strength of a writer who (...) continues to make their free voice heard." Recognized for his entire body of work, Boualem Sansal joins the ranks of past laureates like Andrei ...

Cannes Film Festival 2025's Fashion Police: Do’s and Don’ts

The 2025 edition reasserts the Festival’s fashion authority with a stricter code for gala events. Published just one day before the opening ceremony, it caught publicists, fashion houses, and celebrities by surprise. According to the official site: “For gala screenings at the Grand Théâtre Lumière around 7 PM and 10 PM, formal attire ...

Adidas, Puma family Feud to Be Turned Into TV Series

The bitter brotherly feud that sparked the creation of sports-shoe brands Adidas and Puma in the same small German town in the 1940s is to be turned into a television series with the help of family archives, its producers announced Sunday. Hollywood-based film producer No Fat Ego is backing the project, which has the blessing of the family behind ...

Cannes Behind the Scenes: Red Carpet, Silent Hands

In Cannes, everything seems to float. Spectacular gowns, knowing glances and intense spotlight beams. Yet, beneath this radiant veneer, hundreds of anonymous figures move quietly behind the scenes. They don’t climb the steps or feature in Instagram stories. But without them, the red carpet would simply be a piece of red fabric. Every ...

Denzel Washington Honored with Surprise Palme d’Or

A hard-hitting Egyptian political thriller shook up the Cannes Film Festival on Monday, just before a surprise Honorary Palme d’Or was awarded to Hollywood icon Denzel Washington. The evening also marked the return of French director Julia Ducournau, four years after her explosive win with Titane. The event had been kept tightly under wraps: ...

Scarlett Johansson Steps Behind Camera in Cannes Debut

Scarlett Johansson won praise from veteran filmmaker Wes Anderson as she nervously prepared to unveil her debut feature as a director at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday. Actors behind the camera are something of a trend in Cannes this year, with Twilight star Kristen Stewart and British actor Harris Dickinson both unveiling their first ...

France 'Determined' to Recognize Palestinian State

France is "determined" to recognize a Palestinian state, its foreign minister said on Tuesday, condemning Israel for the "indefensible" situation in Gaza created by its military campaign and humanitarian blockade. Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot also reaffirmed that Paris backed a Netherlands-led initiative for a review of the cooperation ...

At Cannes and Beyond, Raphaël Quenard Is the Artist to Watch

Raphaël Quenard wears many hats: actor, screenwriter, director, producer, and soon, singer. He broke through in 2023 with standout performances in Chien de la casse by Jean-Baptiste Durand and Yannick by Quentin Dupieux. His work in both earned him César nominations in 2024, and he took home the award for Most Promising Actor for Chien de la ...