Cannes 2023: Ken Loach leads old white dudes at festival with ‘The Old Oak’
The Hindu
Ken Loach could pick up a record third Palme d’Or if he wins the festival’s top prize on Saturday with ‘The Old Oak’ about a British pub struggling to survive and the tensions caused by the arrival of Syrian refugees
While much talk at Cannes this year has been about the unprecedented seven women directors in competition, an impressive cavalcade of old white guys has also charmed the French Riviera festival, with 86-year-old Ken Loach entering the race on Friday.
Loach could pick up a record third Palme d'Or if he wins the festival's top prize on Saturday with "The Old Oak" about a British pub struggling to survive and the tensions caused by the arrival of Syrian refugees.
He is the oldest director of the 21 in competition at the film festival -- but not by much.
Other silver foxes in the running include Marco Bellocchio, 83, Wim Wenders, 77, Nanni Moretti, 69, and comparative whippersnapper Aki Kaurismaki, 66.
Outside the main competition, there were also glitzy premieres for 80-year-old Martin Scorsese's American Indian epic "Killers of the Flower Moon", starring veteran screen legend Robert De Niro, 79.
Harrison Ford, 80, received an honorary Palme d'Or before the festival saw him reprise his role as Indiana Jones.
And at the opening ceremony, Michael Douglas, 78, was also given an honorary Palme.