Jane Fonda, Gong Li open Cannes Film Festival

Celebrities from American actress Demi Moore to The Lord Of The Rings (2001 to 2003) star Elijah Wood headed up the red carpet for the May 12 opening ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival, where the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and the absence of Hollywood studios are major talking points.

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(Above, from left) Chinese star Gong Li and American cinema veteran Jane Fonda onstage during the opening ceremony of the 79th Cannes Film Festival on May 12. PHOTO: EPA (Above right) New Zealand film-maker Peter Jackson receiving his honorary Palme d'Or from American actor Elijah Wood during the opening ceremony. PHOTO: AFP

(EPA AFP)

The annual film extravaganza on the French Riviera was declared open by American cinema veteran Jane Fonda and Chinese star Gong Li at a star-studded ceremony.

Fonda, a vocal critic of United States President Donald Trump and longstanding anti-war and women’s rights campaigner, urged the industry to create films that serve as “an act of resistance”.

“We tell the stories... that bring empathy to the marginalised, stories that allow us to feel across difference, stories that let us see that there is an alternative future that is possible,” the 88-year-old said.

Wood, who starred as Frodo Baggins in The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, was reunited with director Peter Jackson onstage as he handed the New Zealand filmmaker an honorary Palme d’Or award for his epic career.

Jackson, 64, was typically self-deprecating as he accepted the award to a prolonged standing ovation, saying it was a “stunning surprise, miraculous... I am not a Palme d’Or sort of guy”.