Battle for cinema's soul begins at Cannes

Festival leaders defend artists and storytellers as artificial intelligence reshapes the global film business

CANNES:

The 79th edition of the Cannes Film Festival opened on Tuesday against a backdrop of mounting anxiety over artificial intelligence, the notable retreat of major Hollywood studios and renewed debate about representation and celebrity culture on the Croisette.

Long regarded as the world's most influential celebration of cinema, the French festival arrived this year at a moment of profound uncertainty for the global film industry.

While organisers unveiled a competition slate packed with independent auteurs, international dramas and politically charged storytelling, much of the conversation ahead of opening night revolved around tech disruption and the absence of blockbuster studio premieres that once defined Cannes glamour.

Festival director Thierry Fremaux used his opening press conference to deliver one of the strongest warnings yet from a major festival figure against unchecked artificial intelligence in filmmaking. He said Cannes stood firmly with writers, actors, translators and dubbing artists increasingly fearful about job losses as AI tools expand across production pipelines.

"What is certain... is that here in Cannes, we stand with the artists," Fremaux declared, suggesting future films might even carry labels stating they were made without artificial intelligence, much like organic certifications in the food and wine industries.

The remarks reflected growing unease across global cinema after the 2023 Hollywood strikes, where AI protections became central demands by actors and screenwriters. In France, thousands of performers and filmmakers earlier this year signed an open letter accusing AI platforms of "plundering" artistic labour and likening the technology to a "devouring hydra".

Yet Cannes itself appeared caught within the same contradiction consuming the wider entertainment business. Just a day before the festival opened, organisers confirmed a multi-year sponsorship agreement with Meta, the technology giant investing heavily in AI development.

The partnership intensified scrutiny surrounding Steven Soderbergh's documentary 'John Lennon: The Last Interview', which uses AI-generated imagery recreating late Beatles icon John Lennon and artist Yoko Ono. The film is set to premiere during the festival and has already triggered debate over ethical boundaries in documentary storytelling.

Beyond the AI controversy, Cannes is also confronting a striking absence of traditional Hollywood power. Unlike previous editions that launched major studio titles such as 'Top Gun: Maverick' or 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny', no major American studio chose Cannes or February's Berlin Film Festival to debut a blockbuster this year.

Industry observers say studios including Disney, Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. have become increasingly cautious amid box-office instability, streaming competition and volatile production economics.

Fremaux insisted American cinema remained strongly represented despite the lack of studio tentpoles. Among the 22 films competing for the prestigious Palme d'Or are 'Paper Tiger' by James Gray starring Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson, alongside Ira Sachs' 'The Man I Love', featuring Rami Malek in a drama set during the AIDS crisis in 1980s New York.

The competition field this year is viewed as unusually open, lacking an obvious frontrunner. Established auteurs including Pedro Almodovar, Laszlo Nemes, Asghar Farhadi and Ryusuke Hamaguchi are competing alongside returning Palme d'Or winners Cristian Mungiu and Hirokazu Kore-eda.

Politics remain woven through many selections, though often through historical settings rather than direct commentary on current conflicts. War, grief, fascism and artificial intelligence emerge repeatedly as thematic concerns across the programme, underscoring cinema's continuing preoccupation with social upheaval and technological change.

The festival opened with French romantic comedy 'The Electric Kiss', directed by Pierre Salvadori, while the main competition will be judged by a jury headed by acclaimed South Korean director Park Chan-wook. Hollywood actor Demi Moore is also serving on the jury panel.

Away from competition screenings, the festival's celebrity machinery remains fully operational despite the industry's turbulence. A reunion celebrating the 25th anniversary of 'The Fast and the Furious' is expected to bring Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster to the Croisette, while John Travolta is unveiling his directorial debut, 'Propeller One-Way Night Coach'.

Meanwhile, Cannes honoured 'The Lord of the Rings' filmmaker Peter Jackson with an honorary Palme d'Or recognising what organisers described as his transformative impact on modern cinema. Fremaux praised Jackson not only as a technical innovator but as a "tremendous storyteller" whose epics reshaped Hollywood spectacle.

The festival also announced a new biopic on legendary entertainer and activist Josephine Baker, with British singer FKA twigs cast in the lead role. Directed by Maimouna Doucoure, the project will chronicle Baker's rise from poverty in St Louis to international fame and her role in the French Resistance and American civil rights movement.

On social media, another Cannes-related controversy erupted after L'Oréal Paris omitted Indian star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan from a promotional campaign video despite her decades-long association with the festival. Fans flooded the company's online accounts demanding explanations before the brand later confirmed that Aishwarya, Alia Bhatt and Aditi Rao Hydari would represent India at Cannes this year.

As the red carpets unfurl along the French Riviera, Cannes once again finds itself balancing glamour with existential questions about cinema's future. Between artificial intelligence fears, shifting studio priorities and debates over artistic identity, the festival's enduring message appears clear: even in an era dominated by algorithms and streaming platforms, the battle over who controls storytelling is far from settled.