Cannes’ Palme d’Or to shine with 167 diamonds

Clovis Casali talks to Thierry Frémaux, the director of the Cannes Film Festival. After being cancelled last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the world's biggest cinema event is back with an exciting line-up. Wes Anderson, Sean Penn, Nanni Moretti and Jacques Audiard are all competing for the prestigious Palme d'Or.

It’s been more than two years in the making: the Cannes Film Festival has opened after a pandemic-prompted hiatus in 2020.

Members of the Cannes Film Festival jury and actors, directors and cultural figures pose for the press following the festival's opening ceremony and first screening.

Darlings of Spanish cinema, Pedro Almodovar and Penelope Cruz, marked the opening of the 78th Venice Film Festival, which guarantees, a shower of stars on the red carpet despite the pandemic.

It’s a cinematic snapshot of the United States, brought to you from the breezy shores of Deauville, Normandy. The annual American Film Festival returns this year, complete with stars on the red carpet after the previous edition was scaled down due to the pandemic.

Stories of courage, specifically about women, are the theme of a special festival organised this weekend by Amnesty International in Paris. For three days, the curtain will go up on the 12th Cinema and Human Rights Festival. The event invites moviegoers and activists to watch a series of short and longer films and then debate their content. In Perspective, we spoke to coordinator Ievgeniia Sokova.

The Lyon Fashion Film Festival is open to admissions from both art schools and brands. This year’s second edition of the event showcased a parade of fresh young talents who aren’t afraid to ruffle a few feathers. The winner of the designers' prize, Rémy Perrier, credits fashion with helping him to discover his true queer identity. Meanwhile, the collective 16:25 was awarded the Students' Prize for "Programmé.e", their mesmerising depiction of the drawn-out agony of the mourning process, juxtaposed with the frenetic pace of disposable fashion. FRANCE 24 takes a closer look.

The egg-sized white diamond was sold for $21.75 million at Christie's in Geneva. It was billed as the largest of its kind to go under the hammer.

As the 75th Cannes Film Festival gets underway, FRANCE 24's Olivia Salazar-Winspear brings us a glimpse of what its opening ceremony will involve, including a Palme d’Honneur for Forest Whitaker. We also take a look at the composition of this year’s jury, with French actor Vincent Lindon shepherding an artistic team who'll assess the features competing for the Palme d’Or. Plus we get a preview of the opening film "Final Cut", in which director Michel Hazanavicius declares his love for genre movies in a lighthearted French parody of a zombie horror slasher.

France says it has captured Oumeya Ould Albakaye, a top extremist figure in Mali. Also, Kenya's Ferdinand Omanyala has been putting his country on the map as fastest man on the continent in the 100 metres. And as the world animation elite meets in the French mountain town of Annecy, the African industry is taking up more and more space. We speak to the founder of Lagos Comic Con and studio founder Ayodele Elegba.

From a film on abortion rights to a biopic about Marilyn Monroe, there's plenty in store at this year's Deauville American Film Festival. The mistress of ceremonies, FRANCE 24's very own Genie Godula, speaks to Eve Jackson at the Normandy beach town about what to look out for during this annual celebration of US cinema.

Eight rare fancy blue diamonds valued in excess of $70 million were on display at Sotheby's in New York on Wednesday.