 |
| Gérard Depardieu gets down and debauched in Abel Ferrara's Welcome To New York, set for a special Cannes screening |
It may have been considered too risqué for any of the official sections of the Cannes Film Festival but Abel Ferrara’s eagerly awaited new film, which is said to be inspired by the life and turbulent times of DSK (Dominque Strauss-Kahn), will be unveiled at the Festival in a special off-screening.
Dealing with money and debauchery (the main character Devereaux played by Gérard Depardieu becomes involved with a hotel maid) as well as the abuse of power, the subject would seem to provide fertile territory for Ferrara.
Jacqueline Bisset plays his spouse Simone Devereaux, not a million miles away from Strauss-Kahn’s long-suffering ex-wife Anne Sinclair, a journalist.
Ferrara has changed the names and inserted a disclaimer to avoid any legal ramifications involving the the disgraced head of the International Monetary Fund.
The film is being sold by French company Wild Bunch, who have just announced it will premiere on Saturday (17 May) just before it is released on streaming in France and other European countries rather than a traditional theatrical release.
Depardieu and Bisset will be in Cannes to speak to the international media at a special press conference, which promises to instigate a media scrum.
The film’s official synopsis describes Deveraux as a man “who handles billions of dollars a day, who controls the economic fate of nations, a man who dreamed of saving the world and cannot save himself’.”
Ferrara already has talked enthusisastically his star turn: “Depardieu is the best casting choice. He's the real McCoy. When we shot with Depardieu, he just pulled a chair up before I got there. He has a passion for making movies like you've never seen in your life.”
