A Donald Trump biopic and the latest dark creation by David Cronenberg premiere in Cannes on Monday as the world-famous film festival reaches its midway point. "Emilia Perez", a musical about a narco boss having a sex change, is the audacious frontrunner so far, after 11 of the 22 entries for the top prize Palme d'Or have been seen, said AFP. The festival -- considered the film industry's foremost get-together -- concludes with its award ceremony on Saturday, with "Barbie" director Greta Gerwig heading the jury.
But two more buzzy entries arrive on Monday. "The Apprentice" is a biopic of Trump's formative years from Iranian-born director Ali Abbasi -- bound to stir up controversy in an election year for the United States. It stars Sebastian Stan, best-known for playing the Winter Soldier in Marvel films, though he also won best actor at this year's Berlin Film Festival and widespread acclaim for his part as rocker Tommy Lee in series "Pam and Tommy".
Later, Cronenberg -- director of many body-horror classics like "The Fly", "Crash" and "Videodrome" -- returns to the Cote d'Azur festival with "The Shrouds". Billed as his most personal film yet, it tells the story of a widowed businessman (Vincent Cassell) who invents a machine to monitor the dead in their graves. It was partly inspired by the death in 2017 of Cronenberg's wife of 43 years.
"I don't really think of art as therapy," the Canadian director told Variety. "Grief is forever, as far as I'm concerned. It doesn't go awa.
