Cannes opens with controversial return of Johnny Depp

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00:00 On the red carpet for his new film Jeanne du Barry, Johnny Depp and his co-stars are

00:05 all smiles. Directed by Mai Wen, the film opened this year's Cannes Film Festival.

00:11 Having been effectively shunned by Hollywood in the wake of his domestic violence and defamation

00:16 trials, Depp has moved to the UK and settled into European cinema.

00:21 But not everyone is happy about the French rehabilitation of the American star's image.

00:26 Several protests have bubbled online.

00:29 But the controversy was eclipsed by the presence of two of cinema's greats.

00:34 Michael Douglas, who quipped that he was older than the festival whilst receiving an honorary

00:38 Palme d'Or, and French film icon Catherine Deneuve, who along with her daughter Chiara

00:44 Mastroianni, opens the competition for the 21 films involved.

00:49 Twice winner of the Palme d'Or himself, Swedish director and president of the jury Ruben Ostlund

00:55 asked his team of eight jurors to dare.

00:57 "I want it to be free, open, it should be high in the ceiling. We should really, really

01:02 dare to bring out whatever we feel like. Because we have to follow that first little instinct

01:08 that we have in us when we are seeing a film. And it is something about that, to be careful

01:12 with that. If we are pushing that away, then we will forget what we were thinking."

01:16 Another two films took centre stage on Wednesday. Monster by Japanese director Kore Iida, who

01:21 is hoping for a second honour following 2018's A Family Affair, and Le Retour by French director

01:27 Catherine Corsini, who is facing backlash after several allegations of harassment during

01:33 the filming of her motion picture.

01:35 The 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival will run until the 27th of May.

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