Paris (EFE).- The American actor Michael Douglas will receive the Palme d’Or of Honor at the next Cannes Film Festival in recognition of a “brilliant career” and his commitment to cinema, the organization reported on Wednesday.
Douglas, 78 years old and son of the emblematic actor Kirk Douglas, will be honored on La Croissete during the opening ceremony that will take place on May 16.
“It’s always a breath of fresh air to be in Cannes, which has long offered a wonderful platform for bold creators, artistic audacity and storytelling excellence,” the interpreter said in a statement broadcast by the festival.
“From my first time here in 1979 with ‘The China Syndrome’ to my most recent premiere with ‘Behind the Candelabra’ in 2013, the Festival has always reminded me that the magic of cinema is not only in what that we see on the screen, but in its ability to impact people around the world,” he added.
For the protagonist of “Basic Instinct” and “Fatal Attraction”, after five decades in the seventh art, “it is an honor to return to La Croisette to open the Festival” and “embrace” the “shared global language” that is cinema .
Michael Douglas, man of many causes
“In addition to his commitment to film, Michael Douglas is also a man who works for many causes. Since 1998 he has been a UN Messenger of Peace and is committed to the international control of nuclear weapons and to the control of arms in the United States”, the organizers of the event also highlighted.
The 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival will take place between May 16 and 27. A total of 19 titles will compete for the Palme d’Or, although some additions to the list are expected in the coming days.
Among those already designated to fight for the highest award on La Croisette are the new films by Wes Anderson, Nanni Moretti, Wim Wenders, Ken Loach and the Brazilian Karim Aïnouz.
Out of competition it will be possible to see the new short film by Pedro Almodóvar, “Extraña forma de vida”, and the return to the direction of the Spanish Víctor Erice with “Cerrar los ojos”.