Heavy dose of politics fuels Cannes film festival

His eagerness to talk about US politics was in stark contrast with the behaviour at Cannes of another director who may soon have a direct line to the White House: Alexandra Kerry, the daughter of Bush’s Democrat rival John Kerry.

The 30-year-old has been keeping appearances restricted to talking about her 15-minute film about a Vietnam war veteran’s return home, avoiding all mention of her father (himself a Vietnam veteran) and the US presidential race. Meanwhile, VIPs staying in top hotels in Cannes for this year’s film festival found themselves with fewer staff at their beck and call today as a strike for higher pay took hold.

The action went mostly unnoticed except at The Carlton, where around one third of the 500 staff have been on strike for the past five days over wages. Several stars in town for the red carpet screenings at the festival have been staying in the hotels, including Penelope Cruz, Uma Thurman and Eddie Murphy. —(PTI)