Controversy at Cannes: Alain Delon and the petition against his award

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The Cannes film festival already has a long history of controversy. The last one is the critique towards the honorific award that was granted to Alain Delon

On May 14, the 72nd edition of the Cannes Film Festival was inaugurated, which will last 11 days and end on May 25. The film that opened the festival was that of a festival favorite, Jim Jarmusch, with The Dead Do not Die, his latest film about zombies, which features musicians like Iggy Pop, Selena Gomez, and Tom Waits.

Leer en español: Polémica en Cannes: Alain Delon y la petición en contra de su premiación

As has already become common in the festival, there was also a scandal on the eve of its inauguration. On this occasion, it was the accusations of "racist, homophobic and misogynist" to the French actor, Alain Delon, who will be awarded an honor prize on May 19.

Not only are accusations, but a collection of signatures was created on the care2 page. The person who calls the public criticism of this actor is Margherita B, an American who affirms that “it is not too late to express our disapproval towards the organization, telling them that no amount of good acting can neutralize such a close-minded vision of the world”. Up to the moment of realization of this article, 22,815 of the 25,000 expected had already been collected.

Response from Delon and his advocates

Alain Delon was selected to receive the honor award for his film career. According to the official page of the Festival, the prize was conferred on him as "a sacred monster, a living legend, a planetary icon. In Japan he is revered and even known as the "Samurai of Spring." He has made more than 80 films, innumerable masterpieces and has received superlatives that highlight his artistic scope and his aura without borders". Then, as expected, there were those who have defended the reception of the award by the star.

Among them, is the general delegate of the festival, Thierry Frémaux, who stated in a press conference that "He is not going to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, it is a recognition of his career (…) he is a legendary actor and It is part of the history of Cannes. "

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Faced with the adjectives used to accuse him, Frémaux declares that "every existence is full of contradictions… We are talking about a man who was very early in the war and belongs to another generation. It is very complicated to judge with the bosses of today issues that are part of the past". Finally, he described the petition as "political police". For his part, the Festival president, Pierre Lescure, in an interview with France Inter, He said: "that says a lot about the Americans".

Finally, Delon also responded to the request. It must be borne in mind that the accusation originates in an interview with Anne-Sophie Lapix in 2013. In it, the actor stated that he did not agree with homosexuality and that he considered it unnatural. Faced with this, Delon said for Le Figaro that "there was one thing I did not want, which was that they [gays] adopted, because a child needs, according to me, a mom and a dad." In short, the actor knows that his opinions will not like many in this era of political correctness, so he concluded "What do you want me to say? They love me or they do not love me, but you can not question my career! "

LatinAmerican Post | Juan Gabriel Bocanegra

Translated from "Polémica en Cannes: Alain Delon y la petición en contra de su premiación"