The 79th Cannes Film Festival runs May 12 to 23 at the Palais des Festivals. With artistic director Thierry Frémaux and president Iris Knobloch at the helm. This year’s edition was marked by a reduced Hollywood presence. Frémaux, who received over 2,541 feature film submissions from 141 countries, nearly 1,000 more than a decade ago, did not seem troubled by it. “Outside of studio cinema, independent cinema continues to exist outside Los Angeles,” he said at the April 9 press conference, held for the first time at the Pathé Palace in Paris.

South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, “The Handmaiden”) has been named jury president for this year’s Palme d’Or selection. Peter Jackson receives an honorary Palme d’Or for his body of work, a recognition that carries some irony given that no Jackson film has ever appeared in official Cannes selection.

His relationship with the festival goes back to 1988, when he brought “Bad Taste” to the Marché du Film and secured international distribution for it. In 2001 he presented 26 minutes of The Fellowship of the Ring footage at the market, helping to win over a sceptical international sales room.

Opening the festival is Pierre Salvadori’s “La Vénus électrique,” a 1920s-set romantic comedy, with Eye Haïdara serving as host of the ceremony.

Competition

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The main competition carries 21 films:

• Minotaur by Andreï Zviagintsev
• Fatherland by Paweł Pawlikowski (previous Palme d’Or winner for Cold War)
• Moulin by László Nemes (director of Son of Saul)
• Sheep in the Box by Hirokazu Kore-eda
• Suddenly by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
• Hope by Na Hong-jin (director of The Wailing)
• Autofiction by Pedro Almodóvar
• Coward by Lukas Dhont
• Parallel Stories by Asghar Farhadi
• Fjord by Cristian Mungiu
• Tales of the Night by Léa Mysius
• Gentle Monster by Marie Kreutzer
• The Dream Adventure by Valeska Grisebach
• Garance by Jeanne Herry
• The Man I Love by Ira Sachs
• A Few Days in Nagi by Kōji Fukada
• El ser querido by Rodrigo Sorogoyen
• Our Salvation by Emmanuel Marre
• L’Inconnu by Arthur Harari
• The Life of a Woman by Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet
• The Black Ball by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo

Un Certain Regard

Jane Schoenbrun opens the sidebar with “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.” The remaining 15 films in the section are:

• The Meltdown by Manuela Martelli
• La Más Dulce by Laïla Marrakchi
• Congo Boy by Rafiki Fariala
• Yesterday the Eye Didn’t Sleep” by Rakan Mayasi
• Of All Nights the Lovers” by Sode Yukiko
• Everytime by Sandra Wollner
• A Few Words of Love by Rudi Rosenberg
• I’ll Be Gone in June by Katharina Rivilis
• Ton animal maternel by Valentina Morel
• Club Kid by Jordan Firstman
• Ula by Viesturs Kairiss
• Ben’imana by Marie Clémentine Dusabejambo
• Le Corset by Louis Clichy
• Elephants in the Mist” by Abinash Bikram Shah

Cannes Première

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• Night Flight to Los Angeles by John Travolta (directorial debut)
• Heimsuchung by Volker Schlöndorff
• Arioka Castle by Kiyoshi Kurosawa
• The Third Night by Daniel Auteuil
• El Partido by Juan Cabral and Santiago Franco
• Cantona by David Tryhorn and Ben Nicholas (documentary)

Midnight Screenings

• Full Phil by Quentin Dupieux
• Colony by Sang-Ho Yeon Roma Elastica by Bertrand Mandico
• Sanguine by Marion Le Corroller
• Jim Queen by Marco Nguyen and Nicolas Athane

65th Critics’ Week

The section opens with Phuong Mai Nguyen’s “In Waves” and closes with Félix de Givry’s “Adieu monde cruel.” Six of the eleven films are debut features:

• In Waves by Phuong Mai Nguyen (opening film)
• A Girl Unknown by Zou Jing (debut)
• The Station by Sara Ishaq (debut)
• Seis meses en el edificio rosa con azul by Bruno Santamaría Razo
• La Gradiva by Marine Atlan (d
• Tin Castle by Alexander Murphy
• Viva by Aina Clotet (debut)
• Dua by Blerta Basholli
• La Frappe by Julien Gaspar-Oliveri (special screening)
• Du Fioul dans les artères by Pierre Le Gall (special screening, debut)
• Adieu monde cruel by Félix de Givry (closing film, debut)

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Kim Kardashian and Lewis Hamilton spent Saturday night at Coachella, watching Justin Bieber headline the festival’s opening weekend. The two kept close throughout the set, with Kardashian locking arms with Hamilton near the front of the stage.

Both dressed in a way that allowed them to blend into the crowd. Kardashian wore a plunging black Skims tank tucked into leather pants, a Chrome Hearts scarf wrapped around her face and multiple silver necklaces. Hamilton wore with a black “Bieberchella” hoodie, Kapital cargo pants stamped with “West Coast Repair Service,” a white baseball cap and a bandana covering his face. Both wore low-profile looks suited to a crowd setting.

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The outing follows recent developments that have drawn media attention. Earlier this month, Hamilton was spotted with Kardashian’s 10-year-old son Saint at SNKRDUNK, a Tokyo store selling sneakers and rare Pokémon cards. It was reportedly the first time he had been seen with one of her children, whom she shares with ex-husband Kanye West. A source told Page Six that West “feels at peace” with Hamilton being around his kids.

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The pair were first widely linked in February, when they were reported to have attended the Super Bowl. They had already been seen together in Aspen over New Year’s, the Cotswolds, Tokyo and Paris Fashion Week. On April 6, they went Instagram official, appearing together in a video Hamilton posted of them cruising through Tokyo in a Ferrari F40. Coachella marked their latest public appearance together.

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A Florida woman accused of shooting at Rihanna’s Los Angeles home has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and several other felonies. Ivanna Lisette Ortiz made her plea in Los Angeles Superior Court this week as prosecutors laid out details of the March 8 incident. Authorities say Ortiz drove to Rihanna’s house, pulled out an AR-15-style rifle, and fired around 20 shots at the property.

Rihanna, A$AP Rocky, their kids and other people were inside at the time. No one got hurt, but prosecutors said the act was deliberate and reckless, putting many lives in danger. Ortiz now faces charges that include attempted murder, ten counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, and three counts of shooting at an occupied home or car. If she’s convicted of everything. She could spend the rest of her life in prison.

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Ortiz, wearing jail attire and appearing behind protective glass, waived her right to a speedy preliminary hearing. That means there’s more time before a judge decides if the case heads to trial.

Her attorney requested that Ortiz’s bail be reduced from $1.9 million to $70,000, arguing that she does not have the financial means to afford the higher amount. The judge didn’t budge, agreeing with prosecutors that Ortiz is too much of a safety risk and might try to flee.

Investigators haven’t said what motivated the attack or if Ortiz even knows Rihanna personally. Prosecutors did mention that they’re still looking into her social media activity from before the shooting.

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Court papers show Ortiz has worked for over ten years as a licensed speech pathologist, but the state attorney general asked the court to stop her from practicing in California while this case is ongoing and the judge agreed.

The case now moves to a preliminary hearing where prosecutors will present evidence to determine if there is sufficient cause for a full trial. Ortiz remains in custody as the proceedings continue.

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