The Cannes Film Festival has confirmed that it has declined press accreditation requests from Russian journalists associated with publications that do not adhere to Cannes’ position on Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Cannes has publicly condemned Russia’s war on Ukraine and has officially un-invited all official Russian delegates or anyone linked to the Russian government from taking part in the 2022 film festival.
But Cannes has not applied a blanket ban on Russians, only those judged to be supportive of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s regime and his war against Ukraine. Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov will be at the festival this year and present his latest feature, the historical drama Tchaikovsky’s Wife, in competition. Serebrennikov is considered a dissident and — before leaving the country earlier this year— he had been targeted by Moscow and held under house arrest.
“We would like to salute the courage of all those in Russia who have taken risks to protest against the assault and invasion of Ukraine,” read the festival’s statement on March 1. “Among them are artists and film professionals who have never ceased to fight against the contemporary regime, who cannot be associated with these unbearable actions, and those who are bombing Ukraine.”
A festival spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter that Cannes approved “only the few” Russian media outlets that are in line with the festival’s anti-war position. But open opposition to Putin’s regime has become both difficult and dangerous for Russian journalists, thanks to harsh new censorship laws that make it a crime to even call the military attacks on Ukraine a war.
Cannes did not say if any Russian journalists had actually been accredited for this year’s festival. The Wrap was the first to report on Cannes barring Russian reporters from attending this year.
Source: Hollywood
