Jane Fonda and Gong Li open Cannes Film Festival

PARIS – Celebrities from American actress Demi Moore to The Lord Of The Rings (2001 to 2003) star Elijah Wood headed up the red carpet for the May 12 opening ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival, where the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and the absence of Hollywood studios are major talking points.

The annual film extravaganza on the French Riviera was declared open by American cinema veteran Jane Fonda and Chinese star Gong Li at a star-studded ceremony attended by Black Panther (2018) actor Isaach De Bankole and Spider-Man (2002 to 2007) actor James Franco.

Fonda, a vocal critic of United States President Donald Trump and longstanding anti-war and women’s rights campaigner, urged the industry to create films that serve as “an act of resistance”.

“We tell the stories... that bring empathy to the marginalised, stories that allow us to feel across difference, stories that let us see that there is an alternative future that is possible,” the 88-year-old said.

Wood, who starred as Frodo Baggins in The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, was reunited with director Peter Jackson onstage as he handed the New Zealand film-maker an honorary Palme d’Or award for his epic career.

Jackson, 64, was typically self-deprecating as he accepted the award to a prolonged standing ovation, saying it was a “stunning surprise, miraculous... I am not a Palme d’Or sort of guy”.

Off-screen events

In the main Cannes competition, which began on May 13, a total of 22 films are vying for the prestigious Palme d’Or prize for best film, which was won in 2025 by Iranian movie It Was Just An Accident by director Jafar Panahi.

The competition features a handful of historical dramas pondering the impact of authoritarianism and fascism, as well as others from art-house heavy hitters such as Spain’s Pedro Almodovar, Japan’s Hirokazu Kore-eda and Romania’s Cristian Mungiu.

As usual in the build-up to the festival, off-screen events have dominated the conversation, from the impact of AI on jobs to Hollywood’s decision to ghost the event to the under-representation of women directors.

Irish-Scottish screenwriter Paul Laverty, one of the nine-person Palme d’Or jury, took a shot at Hollywood in a press conference just hours before the opening ceremony.

“Isn’t it fascinating to see Susan Sarandon, Javier Bardem and Mark Ruffalo blacklisted because of their views in opposing the murder of women and children in Gaza?” he said in reference to the stars who have publicly opposed Israel’s war in Gaza.

“Shame on Hollywood, people who do that,” the writer added.

For years, activists have pushed European festivals to condemn Israel’s war in Gaza, which has left tens of thousands dead and devastated the territory – calls that have been resisted.

AI fears

Cannes director Thierry Fremaux came out strongly against AI and its effect on the industry, however, where job losses are mounting.

“What is certain... is that here in Cannes, we stand with the artistes, we stand with the screenwriters and we stand with everyone in these professions, with actors and voice actors alike,” he told reporters on May 11.

Nonetheless, the festival said on May 11 that it had signed a multi-year sponsorship deal with social media giant and AI technology investor Meta.

Mark Zuckerberg’s group is at the heart of a brewing controversy about the latest film from Oscar-winning Traffic (2000) director Steven Soderbergh, which will premiere in Cannes.

Soderbergh partnered Meta to obtain AI-generated video of late Beatles songwriter John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono for his documentary, John Lennon: The Last Interview.

‘Come back’

Soderbergh, 63, is a rare Hollywood directing heavyweight in Cannes in 2026, with others such as Steven Spielberg and Christopher Nolan – hoped for by organisers – failing to appear on the programme.

The world’s biggest film festival typically relies on Hollywood to provide a dose of mass-market entertainment alongside its programme of art-house cinema.

But no major US studio agreed to launch a blockbuster in 2026, or at the Berlin International Film Festival in February, raising questions about why giants such as Universal, Disney or Warner are dodging European events.

“I really hope that the studios come back,” Mr Fremaux said on May 11, attributing their absence to scheduling issues and industry turmoil.

He stressed that American cinema was well represented, with Paper Tiger by director James Gray and starring actor Adam Driver, as well as The Man I Love by director Ira Sachs and featuring actor Rami Malek, in the main competition. AFP