Ukraine film-makers horrified by Top Gun jet display at Cannes
- By AFP -
- May 19, 2022
The roar of fighter jets over Cannes to welcome “Top Gun: Maverick” was far from welcome by the team behind a documentary about the Ukraine war, they said Thursday.
The festival gave a special screening to “Mariupolis 2”, a documentary about the devastated city of Mariupol by Lithuanian director Mantas Kvedaravicius, who was killed in Ukraine last month — reportedly by Russian forces.
The team who helped complete the film and bring it to Cannes told AFP they were horrified the previous evening when a French Air Force display team screeched across the sky as part of celebrations for the new Tom Cruise blockbuster.
ICYMI: this is what happened at the #Cannes2022 premiere of #TopGun: Maverick with the cast. #TopGunTakesFlight
✈️ Flyover the @Festival_Cannes red carpet by @PAFofficiel
🌿 Surprising @TomCruise with a Palme d’or d’honneur
👏 5-minute standing ovation after the screening pic.twitter.com/WF6fvHPKt6— Top Gun (@TopGunMovie) May 18, 2022
“I was with a friend from Mariupol, a producer. She’s been experiencing the war for eight years,” said Hanna Bilobrova, the girlfriend of Kvedaravicius, who was with him in Mariupol up to his death.
Read More: Tom Cruise’s ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ gets thumbs-up from movie critics
“We were on the balcony and heard jets flying and we almost lay down. Bombs didn’t follow. (My friend) began to cry.
“(She) was very ashamed about her reaction and I said there’s nothing to be ashamed about. We’re still alive,” Bilobrova added.
“Being in Mariupol, you get used to bombs. It’s always like that — people dying.”
The air display team made multiple fly-pasts over the red carpet as Cruise and his co-stars made their way into the theatre on Wednesday evening.
The French Air Force put on an aerial display at the Cannes Film Festival in honor of ‘Top Gun 2’ — and Tom Cruise looked as excited as a little kid watching it pic.twitter.com/Sca9X6o7TF
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) May 19, 2022
Alongside the usual glitz and glamour, the Cannes Film Festival has given a platform to Ukrainian film-makers this year and featured a video message from President Volodymyr Zelensky at its opening ceremony.