Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that this is necessary “The new Chaplin will prove that cinema is not silent” before the war in Ukraine, in a message from Kyiv broadcast at the opening of the 75th Cannes Film Festival.
“We will continue to fight, we have no other choice. (…) I am convinced that the “dictator” will lose,” Zelensky said in front of the cream of world cinema, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the film “The Great Dictator” by Charlie Chaplin, which he repeatedly mentioned.
His video speech at the opening of the event caused surprise in the hall and a standing ovation from the audience, after which the Ukrainian president condemned the atrocities of the Russian war in Ukraine and called on the film world not to fall into silence. .
Is the movie going to shut up or talk about this (the war)? He asked.
“We need a new Chaplin to prove to us today that cinema is not silent. (…) Hatred will disappear in time, dictators will die,” he added in a serious tone.
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In early April, Zelensky had already performed at the 64th Grammy Awards, a North American music award, to ask for help for his country.
The Cannes Film Festival, whose 75th edition began on Tuesday, promised that Ukraine would be “on everyone’s mind” by announcing a program in April that selected several films from the country.
Two generations of Ukrainian filmmakers will be featured, with “regular” Sergei Loznitsa, who presents “Tha Natural History of Destruction” about the destruction of German cities by the Allies during World War II World War II, and with the young Maxim Nakonechny, with “Bachenya Metelika”, which will be shown out of competition, in the parallel show “Un Certain Regard”.
The event is completed at the last minute with a presentatione “Mariupoli 2”the last film by Lithuanian director Mantas Kvedaravichyus, who died in early April in Ukraine.
Against, meeting Kinomir refused to accept “official Russian representatives, state institutions or journalists representing the official line” of Russia, but declared its readiness to always welcome dissenters, starting with Kirill Serebrennikov. The Terrible Child of Russian cinema will open the competition on Wednesday with its new film La Femme de Tchaïkovsky (Tchaikovsky’s Wife), a candidate for the Palme d’Or.
On Tuesday afternoon, at the start of the opening ceremony, presented by actress Virginie Efira, the question of cinema’s political involvement was raised: “Can cinema change the world? I’m not sure. But it may change our understanding of him. And as a result, the world has really changed (…) Freelance filmmakers are what the Cannes Festival is celebrating.”
The war in Ukraine, which entered its 83rd day this Tuesday, has already forced more than 14 million people from their homes – about eight million internally displaced people and more than 6.2 million – to neighboring countries, according to the latest UN figures, which rates this migrant crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
Also, according to the UN, about 15 million people in Ukraine are in need of humanitarian assistance.
The Russian invasion, justified by Putin as the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security, was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing sanctions on Russia that cut across virtually every sector, from banking to sports.
The UN confirmed on Tuesday that 3,752 civilians had died and 4,062 were injured, stressing that the real numbers could be much higher and would only become known when besieged towns or areas where heavy fighting has hitherto been accessed are available.
