The First Ever Midsummer 'Cannes Film Festival'... Held Despite Concerns Over the Spread of the French Delta Variant

Actors Song Kang-ho and Lee Byung-hun Attend as Jury Member and Award Presenter, Respectively

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The Cannes International Film Festival, one of the world's three major film festivals, will be held in the summer for the first time in history.

The Cannes Film Festival, usually held every May, is scheduled to take place for about two weeks starting from the 6th (local time). It was not held last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and this year the schedule had to be postponed by about two months due to government regulations.

Although the Cannes Film Festival has been canceled in the past due to wars, economic recessions, and other reasons, this is the first time it has been held by postponing the schedule.

Although no Korean films were invited to the competition section of this year's Cannes Film Festival, actor Song Kang-ho will participate as a juror, and actor Lee Byung-hun will participate as an award presenter.

Song Kang-ho is expected to judge 24 films competing in the competition section together with eight others, including American director Spike Lee, the first Black jury president in Cannes Film Festival history.

▲Actor Song Kang-ho [Image source=Yonhap News]

Competition section invitees include "Annette" directed by Leos Carax, "Flag Day" directed by and starring Sean Penn, and "Drive My Car" directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, based on a novel by Haruki Murakami.

Master Iranian director Asghar Farhadi's "A Hero" and Paul Verhoeven's "Benedetta" are also competing for the Palme d'Or, the highest award at the Cannes Film Festival.

In the non-competition section, director Han Jae-rim's "Emergency Declaration" was invited, and in the newly established Cannes Premiere section this year, director Hong Sang-soo's "In Front of Your Face" will be screened.

Lee Byung-hun, who stars alongside Song Kang-ho in the film "Emergency Declaration," will be the first Korean actor to appear on stage as an award presenter at the closing ceremony on the 17th.

"Maemi," the graduation work of Yoon Dae-won from the Film Department of the Korea National University of Arts (K-Arts), was also invited to the Cin?fondation section for student films.

This Cannes Film Festival is the first large-scale event to be held in France, which has recorded the highest number of COVID-19 cases in Europe.

▲Actor Lee Byung-hun

France opened its borders to foreign tourists on a differentiated basis according to the COVID-19 situation in each country on the 9th of last month, about a month before the Cannes Film Festival.

Since the 30th of last month, regulations have been eased to allow attendance at concerts, festivals, and other events for those who have completed vaccination or tested negative for COVID-19.

This decision was made as more than half of the French population has received at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and new cases have decreased, but the situation is not yet at a reassuring level.

With the start of the summer vacation season, movement is increasing, and the COVID-19 Delta variant, first identified in India, is spreading rapidly, raising concerns about a fourth wave.

In France, nationwide movement restrictions were imposed three times during the sharp increase in COVID-19 cases: from March to May and October to December last year, and from April to May this year.

Meanwhile, as of the 5th, France has recorded a total of 5,786,999 COVID-19 cases, ranking fourth worldwide, and 111,197 cumulative deaths, ranking ninth globally.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.