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Jeanne du Barry, directed by Maïwenn, starring Johnny Depp, will open the 76th Festival de Cannes and will be screened in world premiere. The directors’ sixth feature will be presented on Tuesday, May 16 on the big screen of the Grand Théâtre Lumière, after the opening ceremony broadcasted live on France Télévisions and Brut.
Jeanne du Barry will be released the same day in French theaters. The film marks the return to the big screen for Depp, whose career was sidetracked following a series of lawsuits he brought against the media and his former wife, actress Amber Heard.
In her film Maïwenn herself plays the eponymous main character alongside with Johnny Depp, Benjamin Lavernhe, Melvil Poupaud, Pierre Richard, Pascal Greggory and India Hair. Jeanne du Barry recounts the life, rise and fall of the king Louis XV‘s favorite. Continuing this year, the traditional "Opening Operation" in French cinemas (ceremony plus film broadcast) will be renewed the same evening with the support of La Fédération Nationale des Cinémas Français and in partnership with France Télévisions and Brut.
The synopsis of the film is as follows: "Jeanne Vaubernier, a young working-class woman hungry for culture and pleasure, uses her intelligence and allure to climb the rungs of the social ladder one by one. She becomes the favourite of King Louis XV who, unaware of her status as courtesan, regains through her his appetite for life. They fall madly in love. Against all propriety and etiquette, Jeanne moves to Versailles, where her arrival scandalizes the court..."
Maïwenn is a director, writer, producer and actress who directed her first feature film, Pardonnez-moi in 2006. From her very first oeuvre, her cinema is already imbued with a certain reality, freely inspired by her own life to shape her characters and intrigues. Identity quest, self building and family at large: all these aspects are at the center of her work.
In 2011, the director wins the Jury Prize at the Festival de Cannes for her first selection in Competition for Polisse. Four years later, she return in Official Selection with My King, which earn Emmanuelle Bercot, the Best actress award.
The Festival de Cannes will take place from Tuesday, May 16 to Saturday, May 27, 2023, with the full selection to be announced on April 13th.
Header photo © Stéphanie Branchu - Why Not Productions, courtesy of the Festival de Cannes, used with permission.
