Robert De Niro called for a protest against Trump at the opening of the Cannes Film Festival
Kyiv • UNN
Robert De Niro condemned Trump for cutting arts funding and imposing tariffs on films produced outside the United States. The Cannes Film Festival honored Ukraine with screenings of films about the war.
Hollywood icon Robert De Niro criticized US President Donald Trump and his proposed tariff on films produced abroad at the opening ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival. This was reported by UNN referring to Reuters.
Details
81-year-old Robert De Niro shared the stage of the luxurious Grand Théâtre Lumière with other Oscar-winning superstars such as Halle Berry, Juliette Binoche and Quentin Tarantino to accept the Palme d'Or from Leonardo DiCaprio.
Trump has cut funding and support for the arts, humanities and education. And now he has announced a 100% duty on films produced outside the US
You can't put a price on creativity, but obviously you can put a duty on it
Organizers emphasize that they want to avoid politics and focus on films, but this year's inclusion of films from Gaza, Ukraine and Iran, as well as Trump's announcement of duties shortly before the festival, have forced more attention to be paid to the world outside Cannes.
Additionally
During the opening of the 78th Cannes Film Festival, Robert De Niro and Tiffany Chen walked the red carpet.
Jeremy Strong and Halle Berry also posed on the red carpet during the opening ceremony and screening of the film "Partir Un Jour (Leaving One Day)".
Actress Eva Longoria, Heidi Klum, Alessandra Ambrosio, Bella Hadid shone on the red carpet.
In addition, on the opening day of the Cannes Film Festival, the organizers honored Ukraine with a special screening program of documentaries about the war in Ukraine. It included:
- Zelensky — Yves Jeuland, Lisa Vapné et Ariane Chemin (France 2025, 2h15) a documentary story about Volodymyr Zelensky's journey from actor to President during the war;
- Notre Guerre — Bernard-Henri Lévy, directed by Bernard-Henri Lévy and Marc Roussel (2025, France-Ukraine, 1h18) a new film from the fronts of Pokrovsk and Sumy, where French volunteers fight side by side with Ukrainian soldiers;
- À 2000 mètres d’Andriivka — a new work by Mstyslav Chernov, the author of "20 Days in Mariupol", about the war in Donbas.
Supplement
The 78th Cannes Film Festival will be held from May 13 to 24 in Cannes, located on the French Riviera. During these days, filmmakers, actors, industry representatives from all over the world will compete for the highest award in the world of cinema – the Palme d'Or.
More than 100 film organizations appealed to the EU and governments to support the independent film industry after Trump announced plans to impose duties on film imports. They call for the protection of independent film support systems.
On the eve, the organizers of the Cannes Film Festival warned the nominees and guests of the ceremony about the inadmissibility of nudity on the red carpet and in other locations of the event.
