Cannes Film Festival
Opening film is renamed after Outcry
The Cannes Film Festival starts on May 17, 2022.
© Shutterstock.com/Denis Makarenko
“Z (Comme Z)”, set to open the Cannes Film Festival, has been renamed following protests from Ukraine.
The zombie comedy “Z (Comme Z)”, which is scheduled to open the Cannes Film Festival on May 17, 2022, has been renamed. The film by Michel Hazanavicius (55, “The Artist”) is now called “Coupé”. The industry journal “Variety” reported from the change. This was preceded by public criticism from the Ukrainian Cultural Institute.
A few days ago, the institute sent an open letter to the film festival and Hazanavicius. In it, it warned that the letter Z is used in Russia as a symbol for the war against Ukraine. “We believe that changing the title of the opening film of the Cannes Film Festival would be a gesture against the barbarism, violence and terror of the Russian army,” the letter reads.
“I can’t take the title anymore”
Now the film festival and the director have complied with this request. “Since the letter Z has taken on a martial meaning with the Russian government’s war of aggression against Ukraine, there can be no such ambiguity or ambiguity,” Cannes said.
Hazanavicius also commented on the change in the title of his film “Z (Comme Z)” (Eng.: “Z like Z”), which was meant as a homage to the zombie genre. “The title might have been funny when I was finishing the film a few months ago, but today it’s not at all and I can’t stand it,” wrote the Oscar winner.