The 79th edition of the annual Cannes International Film Festival is all set to kick-start on May 12 at Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in the French Riviera. All eyes are set on this edition as it will
see a bevy of Indian talents, with some marking their red carpet debuts. And Payal Kapadia, who brought home the Grand Prix in 2024 for All We Imagine As Light, will preside over the 65th Cannes Critics Week jury.
And now, News18 brings to you an exclusive slate of attendees (filmmakers and actors) this year. “Along with Tara Sutaria, Ammy Virk will also be making his debut at the film festival. While Tara will be representing a brand, Ammy Virk will be attending the screening of his Punjabi film, Chardikala, along with Roopinder Kaur Gill,” says a little birdie.
Representing L’Oréal Paris will be Cannes veteran Aishwarya Rai Bachchan along with Alia Bhatt, Aditi Rao Hydari and Eva Longoria. In a new development, the Marathi film industry will also see a representation with veteran actor Ashok Saraf, his wife Nivedita Saraf and Prakajta Mali gracing the film gala.
After the MET Gala, Karan Johar will be walking the red carpet at the Cannes International Film Festival too. For the unversed, last year, Karan had attended the prestigious festival to represent Homebound, which had premiered there. Further joining this list is Sanjay Nigam, the producer of Pitch To Get Rich and founder of Fashion Entrepreneur Fund.
Our source also informs us that Anubhav Sinha and Anurag Kashyap, a frequent presence will be gracing the festival this time too. Anurag had earlier taken his films – Udaan, Gangs Of Wasseypur, The Lunchbox and Kennedy, among others – there, many of which were screened in sections like Directors’ Fortnight and Midnight Screenings. But this time, both Anurag and Anubhav will be attending the festival as viewers to catch some of the premieres and screenings.
Additionally, our source tells us that Mouni Roy will also be walking the red carpet. This will mark her third tryst with the festival as she had earlier attended its 76th and 78th editions, representing brands like Lenskart and Chopard. Jacqueline Fernandez will be returning to the festival for the second time after 2024.
Ashutosh Gowariker, who is also the new director of IFFI, will be at the Cannes International Film Festival. But that’s not all. A bunch of Indian films will have a market screening in the Marché du Film section. Anshuman Jha’s production outings, Malayalam film Balan: The Boy, Hindi-Kannada film September 21 and documentary film Spirit Of The Wildflower are some of them.
We’ve also learnt that after the reverberating success of her Gujarati film Laalo – Krishna Sada Sahaayate, Manasi Parekh is taking her upcoming line-up to the Cannes Film Market. “After Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal, National Award winner Mansi and her husband Parthiv Gohil will follow suit and are excited to speak to financiers and distributors for their next production ventures in what is often referred to as the world’s largest film business event,” reveals our source.
