The list of films of the 78th Cannes Film Festival may be influenced by the policies of US President Donald Trump. His decision to introduce a 100% tariff on foreign films caused discontent in the cinematic community. The open festival, which will take place from May 13 to 24, will become a platform for the major global star - Robert De Niro, one of Trump's most outspoken opponents.
At the age of 81, the actor, who is awarded the honorary golden palm leaf at the ceremony opening, described the president as embodying "absolute evil" and "a joke." In response, Trump called the film's hero "Taxi Driver" being from "the marginalized community." According to the words of the general delegate of the Cannes Film Festival, the policy is not characteristic of the festival itself, but may be present among participants.
Last year, in the context of the presidential pre-election campaign, the festival included in the official program the film "Young Trump", which tells the story of young wealthy and famous Donald Trump, emphasizing that he achieved this through unscrupulous compromises. Trump called the film "pandering and politically provocative."
In 2018, Spike Lee, defending the interests of the African American community, clearly expressed his opposition to Trump during his first term as president. The director of the film "BlacKkKlansman", awarded the grand jury prize, unequivocally characterized Trump, stating that he did not condemn the racist grouping "Ku Klux Klan", propagating the superiority of whites.