2022 Cannes Film Festival: How di famous Cannes Film Festival dey embrace Bollywood

Bollywood siddon in all im jewel and dimple glory for di high-table of world cinema on Tuesday as actress-star Deepika Padukone join di nine-member jury for di 75th Cannes International Film Festival for France to tok to tori pipo dem.

Di jury,wey French actor Vincent Lindon head, go watch 21 films and pick one wey get Palme d’Or, di film world most prestigious trophy for di best film.

Ms Padukone, 36, bi Bollywood highest paid actress wey pipo sabi for her role inside Padmaavat, Piku and most recently Gehraiyaan, say she dey look forward to watch films, “enjoy dis creative process and hug di experience”.

Ms Padukone go be di pesin wey pipo snap photo and tok about past for Indian star for di Cannes Film Festival dis year, but she no be di only one wey add Indian flavour to di world most well-regard and grand celebration of films.

Close to where Ms Padukone go dey watch and judge films, one Indian movie group, wey India minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur lead, don land for pitch for business for di Marché du Film, di world biggest film market wey run same time wit di Cannes Film Festival.

Every May, di upmarket but easy going coastal resort of Cannes for di French Riviera take dia time to mix,dem move from dia own lazy, even no ginger as di film festival dey draw close. Di annual worry be both real and understandable as about 120,000 pipo land for di town of 74,000 to attend di Cannes Film Festival.

Di Festival wey dey celebrate diart of filmmaking, and Marché du Film wia deals wey worth millions dey strike for di sale, distribution and marketing of films.

But dis year, as di town show from lockdown and trauma wey Covid-19 cause, e get different vibe. All masks dey off and ginger dey to return to normal. And to renew dia romance wit di movies, Cannes dey for tight hug wit movie-crazy India.

Dis year India, di world biggest producer of films, don make di “Kontri of Honour” for Marché du Film. As di first kontri to gbab di courtesy, India go gbab di stage, to show off dia talent. Indian directors, producers and distributors go get opportunities to pitch dia films to new markets and explore collaborations.

“India get plenti stories to tell and di kontri truly get di great potential to become di content hub ofdi world,” Oga Thakur bin tweet, e quote Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

To support im case, Oga Thakur don bring along some new films, actors and Oscar-winning music composer A.R. Rahman wey, in turn, don bring along im film, Le Musk. one 36-minute-long virtual reality (VR) mystery wey set around romance wey im bin write and direct, Le Musk be one visual and sensory experience wey pour our some different scents, including one of Rahman favourite, sandalwood. Di film dey set to get world premiere for di Cannes Film market.

Anoda Indian film wey many dey wait for, im world premiere go shelle for di film market na Rocketry: Di Nambi Effect. Di directorial debut of Tamil and Bollywood actor R. Madhavan, Rocketry be documentary about Nambi Narayanan, one Indian aerospace engineer wey dem falsely accuse of spying, e bin chop arrest, abused and later clear am. Di film get cameo by actor Shah Rukh Khan.

Cannes Festival

Getty Images

Di Cannes festival, wey run from 17 to 28 May, get exciting line-up of world premieres of di biggest Hollywood films (Tom Cruise Top Gun: Maverick, Baz Luhrmann Elvis), master classes by some of di most talented actors (Javier Bardem and Mads Mikkelsen, among odas), di best of arthouse cinema as well as two Indian classics wey dem bring back. Satyajit Ray 1970 film, Pratidwandi (Di Adversary), and G. Aravindan Thamp (Di Circus Tent) go dey screened for festival and tickets dey hard to come by.

But di most delightful and surprising Indian presence for Cannes dis year be one documentary about two Delhi-based brodas’ efforts to save birds -clearly, di black kite – wey dey slayed by di city rising pollution.

Shaunak Sen brilliant film, All dat Breathes, wey premiere for di Sundance Film Festival earlier dis year, go dey screened as part of di Cannes film festival official selection. Dis be uncommon departure for Cannes, wey get reputation say e be proudly exclusive and no dey usually consider films wey don play elsewhere.

“I no expect say di film go dey for Cannes. Not small sake of say we bin get di great fortune to premiere and win di Grand Jury award for Sundance, and e dey exceptionally uncommon for film wey dem no go premiere for Cannes to play for Cannes… We dey beside ourselves wit joy,” Sen tell BBC Africa.

All di Breathes dey among 12 films wey go play for di non-competition section, alongside Ethan Coen first solo directorial venture, Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind.

Anoda Indian film for Cannes’ official list dis year be Nauha. Made by Pratham Khurana, one 23-year-old film school student, di 26-minute short, Nauha (wey mean “mourning” for Hindi), be about one young boy wey dey take care of one 75-year-old manwey wan die.

Picked out of more dan 1,500 entries wey dey submitted by film schools from across di world,e be one of 16 films wey dey compete for one award.

Ms Padukone, meanwhile, look one tad overdressed but stunning for one headband and one chunky golden necklace wey look like say e dey drip precious stones.

But she dey all set to take di role of juror she tok. She add say while she dey watch films, she go try “forget say we actually get dis burden and responsibility” to pick one winner, and instead keep am for mind di “audience…say young pikin wey don grow up dey watch movies and dey gingered”.

“I think say cinema be one kind powerful tool and di kind powerful medium. E be di ability to impact and transform pipo lives,” Ms Padukone tok.