Edouard Baer, french comedian, hosted the Cannes ceremony with his classic witty style.

Iñárritu, the jury president, delivered a long speech in spanish, which everybody seemed to understand and applaud. A few clips from his amazing career weree shown prior the screening of Jim Jarmusch..

This evening on the stage of the Grand Théâtre Lumière, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Javier Bardem launched the start of the screenings and festivities of the 72nd edition of the Festival International du Film de Cannes.

The ceremony started with an homage to Agnes Varda, her presence in the festival poster, and her absence was symbolized by an empty director's chair on stage (remonder of her recent movie).

Edouard Baer, Master of Ceremonies, accompanied on the accordion by Aurélien Noel, took the stage with a speech that placed this edition under the banner of shared experience: “Cinema is the movie theatre, it is being together, going out. The collective, the group, human warmth. At the Festival de Cannes, sometimes the screening room is so spectacular that the film itself stops to look around.”

Studded with excerpts from the filmography of Agnès Varda,to whom the poster of this 72nd edition pays homage, the ceremony was enchanted by the voice of Belgian singer Angèle, seated at the piano to perform “Sans toi”, composed by Michel Legrand.

The Feature Film Jury, composed of Kelly Reichardt, Elle Fanning, Maimouna N’Diaye, Alice Rohrwacher, Enki Bilal, Robin Campillo, Yorgos Lanthimos and Paweł Pawlikowski were invited to come on stage before the screening of a montage retracing the career of the Jury’s President: director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu. On behalf of all of the jury members, the Oscar winner talked about the importance of film as a communal experience, and the dedication, passion and excitement of this jury as they embrace the Selection to discover within it the treasures of 2019.

For the first time in a festival  Alejandro González Iñárritu will not receive a prize but will be the one giving the award. I know I will personnally trust his verdict beyond any single doubt.

Marking the return of Jim Jarmusch in Competition, the first film, The Dead Don’t Die, was screened after the Ceremony with the director and his impressive cast in attendance: Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Tilda Swinton, Chloë Sevigny, Selena Gomez, Sara Driver and Luka Sabbat.

The Ceremony was retransmitted in clear by Canal +, and also in nearly 600 partner cinemas. Screening of The Dead Don’t Die will start tomorrow in French cinemas.

Follow the 12 days of the event in the articles, videos, photos and audios on the official website.