Held under clear skies, Canneseries kickstarted Thursday with much panache via the out-of-competition French premiere of Paramount+’s ‘”The Agency,” a remake of the French hit thriller “The Bureau.”
For its eighth edition, the festival was slightly overshadowed, however, when jury president Norman Reedus of “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon” fame had to cancel at the last minute for other work commitments. He was replaced by jury member Jeff Russo, Emmy-awarded composer of “Fargo,” also credited for “Ripley” and “Star Trek: Section 31.” Co-jurors of the main competition remained actors Louise Bourgoin, Lola Dueñas and César Domboy, who walked the pink carpet on Thursday evening.
Crowd onlookers who expected “The Agency” stars Michael Fassbender and Richard Gere or the aforementioned Reedus to share a selfie with them were perhaps disappointed, such as a young Thea, in her 20s, who was coming from Nice to have a glimpse of “The Walking Dead” star and planning to come back with her sister for a screening of “The Walking Dead: Dead City” Season 2 on Friday.
The young French girls and other fans of the AMC spinoff of the flagship zombie show can, however, prepare for a similar adrenaline rush of excitement as Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who plays Negan Smith, is expected to walk -very well alive- the Palais steps today next to creator Scott Gimple.
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“It’s like coming home, but without the stress, just for the enjoyment,” said the seasoned writer, in town to attend the 40-cohort strong Writers Club. “I’m interested to learn how writers in other countries think and how they approach topics of our time. ”
The need for creatives to collaborate to stand high and fend for artistic quality, diversity, training and democratic values in today’s shifting times was underlined by Canneseries president Fleur Pellerin at the opening ceremony.
“In these times of instability, culture remains our true guiding light; it helps us navigate the sense of chaos and re-invent meaning. As global conflicts arise, and democratic values are challenged, culture stands high as a powerful beacon of freedom and creativity,” she stated, reminding the audience of 2,000 at the Palais’ Grand Auditorium, Canneries’ own core values of connection, dialogue and artistic ambition. “The festival is meant to create bridges,” she insisted.
Boasting about Canneseries’ revamped industry event unspooling April 25-27, Pellerin said the program reflects the Industry Days’ ambitions in terms of “synergies, exchange of ideas and the emergence of new projects.” The former French Culture Minister also talked AI and its challenge to human beings in the creative process.
Picking up on Pellerin’s thoughts about AI, Cannes mayor David Lisnard, underlined the immense opportunities in the field. “We are just in the ice age of AI,” he noted.
The politician took a chance to announce that next year, Canneseries will host the World AI Film Festival, which successfully launched earlier this year in Nice, with more than 10,000 participants. “Together with Charles Ange Ginésy (President of the Alpes-Maritimes Department and the Maison de l’intelligence artificielle (House of AI), we share the same vision and have agreed to stage the WAIFF during Canneseries next year. This is a scoop,” he quipped.
Up-and-coming French actor Marie Colomb (“Laëtitia,” As Bestas) was handed out the Madame Figaro-Rising Star Award during the opening. Monday evening, another shooting star , Nicola Coughlan (“Bridgeton”), will be bestowed the Konbini Commitment Award.
After screening 19 series in competition, seven out-of-competition and 16 rendez-vous, the eighth Canneries closes Tuesday with an awards ceremony.
