Cannes Rolls Out Red Carpet for Pared-Back Film Showcase

via Reuters.
via Reuters.
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Cannes Rolls Out Red Carpet for Pared-Back Film Showcase

via Reuters.
via Reuters.

Movie-lovers got a turn on the red carpet at Cannes on Tuesday night as the organizers of its famed cinema festival, cancelled earlier this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, kicked off a more low-key three-day event showcasing a range of short films.

Usually awash with Hollywood stars who flock to the French city’s “Croisette” promenade for the two-week extravaganza in May, Cannes was a much quieter version of its glamorous self, with even some major hotels deciding to shut up shop.

But organizers said they had wanted to hold an event all the same, despite enduring travel restrictions, to shine a light on some films and give a boost to the cinema industry, hit hard by coronavirus lockdowns.

“It’s a reunion of friends,” said Cannes Film Festival President Pierre Lescure. The event on France’s southern coast is the world’s biggest cinema showcase, and also a major market for the industry.

Members of the public were invited to register for tickets. Four films that would have been part of the official main competition in May will be shown, while several short movies will compete for a prize.

Wearing face masks, and long gowns in some cases, guests wound their way up a red carpet to one of the auditoriums, Reuters reported.

“We need to live in Cannes,” said attendee and local resident Arlette Destouches.

“We’re here for that, to live, not to fall asleep.”

Lescure said Cannes’ organizers were already thinking of options to move the festival dates next year if it could not take place as usual in May.

“We have already planned one or two possible dates that have been pushed back to June or July. But Cannes 2021 will happen,” he said.



Unreleased Beyonce Music Stolen From Car in Atlanta

FILE - Beyonce, left, accepts the Innovator Award during the iHeartRadio Music Awards, April 1, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
FILE - Beyonce, left, accepts the Innovator Award during the iHeartRadio Music Awards, April 1, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
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Unreleased Beyonce Music Stolen From Car in Atlanta

FILE - Beyonce, left, accepts the Innovator Award during the iHeartRadio Music Awards, April 1, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
FILE - Beyonce, left, accepts the Innovator Award during the iHeartRadio Music Awards, April 1, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

Computer drives containing unreleased music by US superstar Beyonce and plans related to her concerts were stolen last week in Atlanta, police said Monday, with a suspect still at large.

The items were stolen from a rental car used by Beyonce's choreographer and a dancer on July 8, two days before the pop icon kicked off the Atlanta leg of her "Cowboy Carter" tour, a police incident report said, according to AFP.

Choreographer Christopher Grant, 37, told police that he returned to the car to find its rear-window smashed and their luggage stolen.

Inside were multiple jump drives that "contained water marked music, some un-released music, footage plans for the show, and past and future set list (sic)," the report said.

Also missing were an Apple MacBook, headphones and several items of luxury clothing.

Police investigated an area where the MacBook and headphones had pinged their location, but the report did not mention any items being recovered.

Atlanta Police said in an online statement that a warrant had been issued for an unnamed suspect's arrest, but that the suspect remained at large.

The "Cowboy Carter" tour kicked off in April after the global superstar took home her first "Album of the Year" Grammy for the 2024 album.

The sweeping country-themed work saw Beyonce stake out musical territory in a different genre from much of her previous discography.

The ambitious, historically rooted album also aimed to elevate and showcase the work of other Black artists in country music, whose rich contributions the industry has repeatedly sidelined.

As her stadium tour to promote the album winds down, Beyonce ended her four-night stint in Atlanta on Monday, with two final performances set for late July in Las Vegas.