A few days before the opening of the 79th Cannes Film Festival, Eye Haïdara, the mistress of ceremonies for this edition, spoke to TIME France, revealing the backstage of the ceremony preparations.
Behind the glamour of the grand celebration of cinema in Cannes lies hours of preparation and work. As the famous film festival prepares to celebrate the seventh art, the focus is on preparatory work. This is the case for Eye Haïdara, who will embody the festival as the mistress of ceremonies. The French actress, who has worked with Éric Toledano, Olivier Nakache, Cédric Klapisch, and Michel Hazanavicius, will be overseeing the ceremonies this year.
In an interview with TIME France, she shared how she learned that she would be the mistress of ceremonies for a festival that sparked her curiosity in cinema, as well as the behind-the-scenes of her preparation for this honorable role. Without revealing the details of the message she will convey, she assures, “I want to be true to myself, true to what I want to convey.”
Eye Haïdara expressed the pleasure and honor of being the mistress of ceremonies for the upcoming Cannes Film Festival. She associated the festival with the discovery of world cinema and its international curiosity.
To prepare for such a demanding role, Eye Haïdara described the process of writing, testing, and refining the script with her team. The goal is to deliver a sincere and passionate opening speech to engage the audience.
She mentioned reaching out to former hosts like Bérénice Bejo, Éric Toledano, and Olivier Nakache for advice and insights. Eye Haïdara is curious about this year’s selection at Cannes, particularly looking forward to the return of Almodóvar and Jeanne Herry’s debut at the festival.
