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Day: 21 April 2022

Cannes unveils poster inspired by The Truman Show

by: Stephanie Horsman
21/04/2022

The official poster for the Cannes Film Festival 2022 has dropped and, for the 75th edition, celebrates the classic 1998 Jim Carrey film The Truman Show and the complexities that it represents.

The poster released on Monday shows a lone man walking up a flight of stairs, “touching” the sky as he ascends, in a moment blurring the lines between what is real and what is not. A large graphic 75 is positioned under the man’s hand in homage to the three-quarters of a century of the Festival’s existence.

“Just as the unforgettable Truman embodied by the one-and-only Jim Carrey, whose fingers brush his horizon, the Festival de Cannes takes the extreme nature of the world in its stride in order to grasp it again,” explained the film festival organisers in launching the poster. “The climate crisis, humanitarian disasters, and armed conflicts… the reasons for concerns are numerous.”

Peter Weir and Andrew Niccol’s The Truman Show is a dystopian satire from 1998 about the world’s first baby legally adopted by a company, who lives on a huge movie set in a gigantic studio dome, his every move captured by 5,000 hidden cameras and broadcast to the world, unaware that everyone he knows and loves are actors paid to be a part of his life. Almost 24 years after its release, we see that it not only predicted the reality TV craze that has swept the world, but also foreshadowed the scope of modern product placement and invasion of privacy.

“Just as Truman escapes falsehood as he rises, the Festival, with its famous ascending red carpet, offers viewers the truth of the artists when they enter the theatre,” concluded the Cannes organisers.

The Cannes Film Festival was originally known as the International Film Festival and was the brainchild of Jean Zay, French Minister of National Education, who conceived of the idea in 1938 as an alternative to the Venice Film Festival, which at the time was being manipulated by dictators Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler.

Cannes was chosen over Biarritz as the locale, and organisers set to work, with the support of the British and Americans, to create a world-class rival to Venice. All the pieces were in place, with top stars of the day including Cary Grant, Gary Cooper, Mae West and Spencer Tracy, assembled and ready to go.

Sadly, the day after the 31st August 1939 launch, Hitler invaded Poland sparking World War II, and the Festival was cancelled until the end of the war, when in 1946 it was resurrected.

Organisers are likening the 2022 edition to those past festivals where the worries of war, humanitarian disasters and climate issues were overcome by a strong conviction that “art and cinema are where contemplation and the renewal of society unravel,” reiterating that “the purpose of the Cannes Film Festival, in a spirit of friendship and universal cooperation, is to reveal and showcase quality films in the interest of the evolution of the art of cinematography.”

 

 

 

Macron and Le Pen spar in presidential debate

by: Stephanie Horsman
21/04/2022

During their one and only televised debate before the upcoming French Presidential elections, Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen went toe to toe on almost every topic including Russia, the economy, immigration and climate change.

With just three days to go before the second round of the presidential elections in France, the two contenders took to the television screens to make their positions loud and clear. Unsurprisingly, they butted heads on nearly every topic.

Macron, trying not to look arrogant, and Le Pen, trying to appear more moderate, clashed on subjects ranging from healthcare, pensions, Covid, Europe, immigration, taxes, the environment, cost of living woes and the war in Ukraine.

The two-and-a-half-hour spectacle saw Macron pulling no punches, accusing Le Pen of being in Russia’s back pocket, repeatedly going back to the loan her party took from a Czech-Russian bank back in 2014.

“You are dependent on the Russian government and you are dependent on Mr Putin,” he said. “When you speak to Russia you are speaking to your banker.”

Le Pen countered that she is “an absolutely and totally free woman” and that she had only taken those loans because banks in France had refused.

Le Pen, for her part, was ready for the attacks and did not make the same mistakes of the 2017 debate when she came across as flustered and unprepared. She was clearly playing offense this time around, leaving Macron scrambling for footing, interrupting her continuously.

One hot potato the two candidates got heated over were salaries, notably when Macron scoffed at Le Pen’s suggestion that she would increase wages by 10%.

“The president doesn’t decide salaries, that’s down to employers,” Macron said. “You are trying to make people believe you will increase salaries by 10% and it’s not true.”

“And you are trying to make people believe you will increase bonuses,” Le Pen batted back.

Le Pen also said 70% of French people thought their standard of living had decreased since Macron has been in office and that she strove to be a president of domestic peace and national unity. “We must protect our social model, prioritise localism over globalisation, and give French nationals precedence in our own country,” she said.

Macron defended himself, saying France had known unprecedented crisis, first with the pandemic followed by war in Ukraine. He said he has led France through those challenges and planned to make France a stronger country. He stated that the vote on Sunday was a “referendum on Europe, on secularism, and a moment of clear choice”.

The environment was another topic showing the two as polar opposites. Macron called Le Pen a “climate sceptic” and she called him a “climate hypocrite.”

There were also several moments of great drama, with expressive facial gestures, looks of shock and scepticism and various poses indicating that the opponent was way off base in their thinking. Le Pen, who is not the experienced debater that Macron is, relied on expressive soundbites as transitionals in order to switch topics, whilst Macron laboured to bat down her “incoherent” proposals with facts without sounding like a know-it-all.

Despite a vastly stronger performance than 2017 from Le Pen, a poll carried out by pollsters Elabe suggested that 59% of those asked declared Macron to be the winner.

The sitting president came out on top as more presidential, 53% to 29%, but half of viewers also said he had come across as arrogant, overexplaining political points as if he were a headmaster talking to a remedial class. Challenger Le Pen was thought to be more in tune with the public, edging out Macron 37% to 34%, but 50% of those polled also found her politics to be “worrying”.

The face-off was moderated by respected French journalists, and each candidate had equal time to answer questions. The debate has been a major event in French presidential elections since it was first introduced in 1974. Only once, in 2002, did a candidate refuse a debate. This was when Jacques Chirac refused to debate his second-round rival, the far-right leader and father of current candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen, saying to do so would legitimise Le Pen’s extreme views.

 

 

 

EVER Monaco puts environment front and centre

by: Stephanie Horsman
21/04/2022

EVER Monaco, the three-day event that focuses on creating positive environmental impact in the energy and vehicle sectors, is celebrating its 17th edition this month and will feature 60 exhibitors and 30 start-ups all in one convenient location.

Since its inception in 2006, EVER Monaco has been a vector of exhibition and exchange around two key themes: sustainable mobility and renewable energies.

The event features vehicles in all their forms, whether they be two or four-wheeled, and also looks at collective and industrial transport for the future. Then there are the talks involving energy companies who have environmental bents and are up-and-coming players in creating a sustainable habitat for all. Though different sectors entirely, all the companies that participate have a single-minded goal, and that is in the development of a carbon-free future.

“Since His accession, His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco has committed the Principality to a resolute approach in the field of clean mobility. A theme included in a more global policy in favour of sustainable development intended to make the territory carbon neutral by the middle of the century,” says the President of EVER Monaco Bernard Fautrier. “In the field of mobility, the subsidy mechanisms put in place for individuals and professionals, the partnerships entered into with manufacturers, and the proactive approach undertaken by administrations and public service companies have led to Monaco being made a pioneering territory for electro-mobility.”

Held at the Espace Fontvieille and the Big Top, a venue of more than 9,000m2, the space will be the temporary home of car manufacturers, manufacturers of two wheeled vehicles, energy companies and players in sustainable mobility and housing.

With a Ride and Drive space larger than ever and nearly 50 vehicles available, visitors to EVER Monaco will be able to discover and test drive the latest electric cars on the market for free.

Kia will introduce their new Sportage plug-in hybrid as well as the Niro, which has not yet hit the assembly lines.

SAMGF Monaco will present the new Mercedes GLB, the brand’s first seven-seater electric SUV, while the Segond Automobiles group will be present with several brands, including Audi, Fiat, Jeep, Porsche and Suzuki, which is currently launching its new Vitara auto-rechargeable hybrid.

Another great novelty is the presence of Volvo Trucks France, main partner of the event, which will allow you to discover the future of road transport with the exhibition of two electric trucks. Tests will also be carried out by demo drivers from the Swedish manufacturer.

SEE ALSO:

Ever Monaco 2020 and the unveiling of an electric Sunbeam Alpine

 

Photo source: EVER Monaco

 

AS Monaco claim bragging rights over local rivals

by: Luke Entwistle
21/04/2022

Aleksandr Golovin’s first-half goal was enough to guarantee Monaco the three-points over OGC Nice (1-0), a sweet victory that sees them climb above their bitter rivals for the first time this season.

The stands of the Stade Louis II were packed for the occasion on Wednesday night, the Nice fans had understandably travelled in numbers, given the short journey and made themselves heard throughout. The same cannot be said for their team, however, who looked limp and impotent and failed to muster any clear-cut chances as they slumped to their third defeat in five games.

Monaco, meanwhile, have won all of their last five, making this a meeting of two teams whose seasons are on diverging paths. Whilst Nice’s hopes of Champions League football next season dwindle, Monaco’s grow stronger by the game. But with so many runners in the race, any slip-up will be punished, and whilst Philippe Clement’s men are currently sprinting fastest down that final straight, there is still time for that to change.

Following last weekend’s win over Rennes, Clement named an unchanged side on Wednesday. Just like that game at the Roazhon Park last week, the first chance fell to Aleksandr Golovin, but whereas it was his technique that let him down last week, it was indecision that squandered the opportunity here. By the time he had passed to Wissam Ben Yedder, the chance had already gone.

Both sides struggled to create clear-cut opportunities for large parts of the first-half, and Nice wouldn’t have many better than Mario Lemina’s free header within the box. Only eight yards out, the former Southampton man could only direct the ball harmlessly over Alexander Nubel’s bar.

Lemina was involved again just minutes later, his tumble in the box validated opposition coach Clement’s pre-match statement that Nice “fall very well in the box”, but didn’t convince either the referee.

Both sides looked destined to head into the dressing rooms level-pegging, but a Walter Benitez parry from a relatively innocuous Vanderson cross fell at the feet of Golovin, who this time couldn’t miss from yards out.

Nice came out in the second-half urgently in need of a goal to restart their stuttering season, and although they had the Monegasques pegged-back for large swathes of the second-half, they lacked the incision to truly test Nubel in goal.

Instead, it was Monaco who would have the better chances. Ben Yedder, who Clement admitted post-match wasn’t at his prolific best, should have done better when, one-on-one, his lob beat Benitez but not the post. Minutes later he cut in on his left, many in the stadium expected the net to bulge, but his tepid effort was easily smothered by the grateful Benitez.

Those misses were of little consequence. Monaco saw out the victory (1-0) to move level on points with third-placed Rennes and fourth-placed Strasbourg, now only goal difference denies them that Champions League spot.

Post-match, Clement understood the importance of the special victory, saying, “This victory will certainly count. The whole group was very happy in the dressing room. It’s never easy against Nice, who have the best defence in Ligue 1 and a strict organisation. It’s a deserved victory, we created the best opportunities.”

Questioned by Monaco Life about the psychological effect that the result will have on both teams, Clement responded: “I am thinking only about the psychology of my own team. It’s good to have now won five consecutive matches, and now I’m curious, because it’s the first time that they’ve done that with me this season.

“Now, I want to see if everyone can keep their feet on the ground and remain focused in this big-match against Saint-Etienne. That is also something interesting in the coming days.”

If Monaco are to reach the lofty heights of the Ligue 1 podium, they must stay grounded and focused, beginning with their difficult clash against relegation-threatened Saint-Etienne on Saturday.

 

 

 

Pictures: Prince strengthens links with Italian regions during official tour

by: Stephanie Horsman
21/04/2022

Prince Albert II is undertaking a cross-country three-day excursion to Italy to revisit lands that have historical ties to the Grimaldi family.

The Prince is currently touring the Pouilles region and Genoa, between 20th and 23rd April, to revisit and strengthen ties with ancient Grimaldi sites including Terlizzi, Canosa di Puglia, Poggiorsini, Spinazzola and Genoa.

The story of these connections dates back to as far as 1532 when the Emperor Charles Quant granted to the Lord of Monaco, in consideration of an alliance, certain southern Italian fiefs. Genoa was the cradle of the Grimaldi family back then, until the end of the 13th century and the beginning of the 14th, when the family decamped to what is now Le Rocher to build their own sovereign land.

The head of state spent Wednesday in Terlizzi, in the province of Bari in the south of Italy, followed by a visit to Trani in the Barletta-Andria-Trani region, where he discovered the San Nicola Pellegrino Cathedral.

Photo by Eric Mathon, Prince’s Palace

His trip continues in Canosa di Puglia, also in Barletta-Andria-Trani, before heading to the village of Andria in Bari, where he will see the Castel del Monte, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. The Sovereign and his retinue will carry on to the castle at Garagnone, whose former territory belongs to the municipalities of Oggiorsint and Spinazzola.

Back up north to Genoa on the 23rd, Prince Albert will assist in the opening of Euroflora, an exposition dedicated to ornamental flowers and plants. He will then go to the Giannina Gaslini Paediatric Hospital to meet the caregivers of this institution, before heading to the Casa Rossa of the Association Gaslini Band Band.

Next, he will go on a private tour of the Villa del Principe, followed by a stop at the Palazzo Ducale where he will participate in the 3rd edition of the Festa della Bandiera. He will be given citizenship to the city of Genoa, after a presentation by the President of Siti Storici Grimaldi di Monaco association Fulvio Gazzola, who is also the Mayor of Dolceacqua, which the city of Genoa has just joined.

This is the final stop in the Prince’s journey before returning to the Principality.

Click on the pictures in the gallery below to see more of Prince Albert’s tour of Italy. Photos by Eric Mathon, Prince’s Palace…

 

SEE ALSO:

Princess Charlene makes public return for Easter pic and mass with family

 

 

 

 

Roca Team humbled in Greece

by: Luke Entwistle
21/04/2022

AS Monaco Basketball recorded a record-low scoring tally for the season as they were beaten comprehensively by Olympiacos (71-54) in the first-leg of their Euroleague play-off tie on Wednesday.

Coach Sasa Obradovic told Monaco Life pre-match that their good form going into the play-off would count for nothing, and that they should “put it aside”, and so it transpired. Despite beating Olympiacos in the regular season, they were swatted aside by a dominant Olympiacos, who never yielded their tight grip on the fixture.

Obradovic also warned about the atmosphere inside the Peace and Friendship Stadium, which was at fever-pitch throughout. Monaco did manage to slightly dampen the mood in the first-quarter. A resilient Monegasque defence severely limited the home side’s scoring opportunities, as they registered a mere eight points.

Roared on by their crowd, Olympiacos fought back. Aleksandar Zezenkov and Konstantinos Sloukas were prominent in an unreplied nine-point streak at the beginning of the second-quarter. That was just a sign of things to come, as Monaco struggled to keep pace with the runaway Greeks. By the end of the quarter, their lead had not just been wiped out, they also headed back into the dressing rooms with a seven-point deficit (33-26).

Thereafter, Olympiacos managed the game, gradually growing their advantage. The Roca Team’s prominent figures of the last weeks and months were kept largely quiet. Mike James (10) and Donta Hall (10) finished as Monaco’s joint-top scorers, but neither of them had the same level of influence as they have done in their recent streak that made them one of the most formidable sides in Europe.

Post-match, Obradovic discussed the lessons to be learnt from the tie. “For the second match, we need to manage our emotions better, keep control and avoid falling in the atmosphere around us,” said the Serbian.

Paris Lee, meanwhile, was defiant ahead of the second-leg, which takes place in the same stadium on Friday. “We have the ability to respond much better. On Friday, we will have our backs to the wall, we recognise this kind of match.”

A response from Obradovics’ men is necessary to keep the tie alive coming into the home leg at the Salle Gaston Medecin next Wednesday.

 

 

Photo source: AS Monaco Basketball