This year’s Cannes edition officially kicked off with an opening ceremony to which the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky was surprisingly connected and which preceded the premiere of Final Cutrenamed from its original title, ‘Z‘, after Ukrainian protesters noted that the letter’Z‘for some it symbolizes support for Russia’s war in Ukraine. The war in Ukraine should be a regular presence in Cannes. “We need a new Chaplin who proves that today’s cinema is not silent,” said Zelensky in the connection greeted by an ovation. In his speech he cited masterpieces of the history of cinema such as The Great Dictator e Apocalypse Now. “Hatred will eventually disappear and dictators will die. We are at war for freedom, ”he said. The festival excluded Russians with government ties. On the screen there will be several films by prominent Ukrainian directors, including the documentary by Sergei Loznitsa The Natural History of Destruction. Footage shot by Lithuanian director Mantas Kvedaravicius before he was killed in Mariupol in April will also be shown by his girlfriend, Hanna Bilobrova.
