Harari’s ‘The Unknown’ Cannes Ovation Amid Canal+ Ban
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- Arthur Harari received a nine‑minute standing ovation at the Cannes competition premiere of his Palme d’Or contender “The Unknown” on Monday.
- Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada announced the group would cease collaborations with signatories of the “Time to Switch‑Off Bolloré” letter, citing Harari’s description of Bolloré as a “crypto‑fascist”.
- Bolloré Group holds roughly 30 % of Canal+’s shares, making it the broadcaster’s largest shareholder and raising concerns about editorial independence.
- Variety praised “The Unknown” as a daring body‑swap psychodrama, a sentiment echoed by IndieWire, which called it a beguiling thriller.
- The Guardian highlighted the Cannes film “Letter to Brezhnev” as a politically charged work that humanized Russians, underscoring Cannes’ broader platform for contentious cinema.
Why it matters: Harari’s Oscar‑winning director status and the film’s Cannes ovation highlight his artistic prominence, while Canal+’s ban of Bolloré‑critical signatories sparked uproar among French filmmakers and underscored the media group’s control of the broadcaster.
