Cannes on Trial: Glamour, Power, and the Reckoning

Cannes Film Festival has spent decades branding itself as cinema's moral conscience — but its own record tells a more complicated story. In this episode of Star Witness, Becca Hartwell and Miles trace the festival's origins to a 1938 walkout over Nazi-pressured awards at Venice, then move forward through Heelgate in 2015, the Roman Polanski Palme d'Or in 2002, and the 2009 petition — co-signed by Cannes as an institution alongside Harvey Weinstein, Scorsese, and Tilda Swinton — demanding the release of a convicted fugitive. They also examine the 2025 Gaza open letter signed by over 350 filmmakers and the killing of documentary filmmaker Fatma Hassona, asking why Cannes moved swiftly on Polanski's behalf but offered only a tribute screening in response. The 2026 festival features a genuinely international jury under Park Chan-wook and a Thelma and Louise poster framed as a feminist statement — but Becca and Miles disagree on whether that amounts to progress or just a more polished rebrand.