applause meryl streep and france'sjuliette binoche jointly declare the cannes film festival officially open. it was a veritable feast, a combination of commercial blockbusters like furiosa: a mad max saga... do you have it in you to make it epic? ..together with some great international cinema. including india's first film in competition in three decades. if i get to be number 47 back in the united states, we're going to really make ita big bang. it's going to be big. it's going to be the biggest bang ever. it'll be the end of the world. and you can say that i did it. so that's the way it goes. you witness all kinds of sights in cannes. a donald trump impersonator was present at the premiere of a film portraying the former president's early years as a real—estate developer. stars kept the red

carpets very busy. we got a good part of it. kevin costner was there, appearing in a new western. greta gerwig, director of last year's blockbuster hit barbie, was presiding over thejury. stars from many different generations came, including richard gere and uma thurman, and adam driver was keeping fans happy by signing autographs. the fans in cannes spend hours waiting for an encounter with a star. it's hard to wait a long time to see people, but i really like to do this. i have take a photo with chris hemsworth, anya taylor—joy, eva green, faye dunaway. marion cotillard. cannes also reflected the struggles of the real world. there was a documentary on daily life in ukraine since russia's invasion, and there was a heavily anticipated film from iranian director mohammad rasoulof, a critic of the government, who secretly fled iran to make it to europe after being sentenced to prison. cannes has many different

personalities and components, but at its heart are the 22 movies in competition. one of the more eagerly awaited films in cannes this year in competition was megalopolis, from legendary 85—year—old american director francis ford coppola. his film, which he first began thinking about more than a0 years ago, is a sci—fi drama set in a city that resembles new york, and it has adam driver playing an architect who has the power to stop time. on the red carpet at cannes, an historic moment. the presence of francis ford coppola, a film—maker who in the 19705 changed the face of american cinema... don't ever take sides with anyone against the family again. ..getting the godfather franchise off the ground... a man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man. ..as well as making the revered mystery thriller the conversation... he'd kill us if he got the chance. ..and the vietnam war—era picture apocalypse now... i love the smell of

napalm in the morning. ..both of which won the top prize at cannes. this year, coppola was at the festival along with the large cast of his long—gestating megalopolis. described as a roman epic set in modern—day america, adam driver plays an ambitious, enlightened architect and artist, a progressive trying to build a utopian city. he is pitted against a regressive mayor, portrayed by giancarlo esposito, who is wedded to the greed—driven status quo. when does an empire die? coppola sees the film as very relevant to the polarised politics of the us today. my feeling was to do a roman epic set in modern america, but i had no idea that the politics of today would make that so relevant. because what's happening in america, in our republic, in our democracy, is exactly how rome lost their republic thousands of years ago.

megalopolis is a feast of a movie. coppola invested $120 million of his own money to make it. time, stop! but his film divided and confused audiences. many, it seemed, myself included, couldn't relate to the ideas being peddled and, at times, the symbolism. but if you listen to cast member giancarlo esposito, by delivering confusion, coppola may have given all of us a gift. there are parts of the movie i go, "oh, i don't really quite "understand that, but i'm still thinking about it." it's supposed to inspire us to a new way of thinking, and in the end, that inspiration is supposed to allow us to have hope for our world. and when we ask these questions, when there's a dialogue about them... ..that basically is a utopia. one critic described the opening of megalopolis in cannes as a date in the history of cinema. others thought it was pointless. who am i to say something like francis ford coppola made not such a good movie, so i won't say anything.

did you enjoy it? no. the film was a little bit disappointing. i'm sorry. coppola did at least have a partial distribution deal in place for his epic before the festival began. megalopolis may not have been received in the way he wished, and its commercial prospects are farfrom certain, but he's a man who's weathered many adverse reactions to his movies, and in his own estimation, he's always prevailed because he's done what he wants to do. there's so many people when they die, they say, "oh, i wish i had done this, i wish i had done that." but when i die, i'm going to say, "i got to do this. "and i got to see my daughter win an oscar, "and i got to make wine, "and i got to make every movie i wanted to make," and i'm going to be so busy thinking of all the things that i got to do, that when i die, i won't notice it. laughter here in cannes, there was much talk of france's metoo movement

and the impact it was having on both the festival and the wider french film industry. a short metoo film called moi aussi opened one of the major sections of the festival. emma jones spoke to the french actor and director who made it. cheering emma: silence no more. this was the year the metoo movement really made an impact on cannes. on the red carpet, french actress and director judith godreche posed with some of the participants of her short movie moi aussi, or me too, which was shown as part of the festival. godreche has publicly accused two directors of assaulting her when she was a teenager. they have denied the claims. her 17—minute film features around 1,000 survivors of sexual abuse, shot in one day in paris this year. she believes the headlines generated from showing the film

at cannes gave the movie a powerful platform. it's important to me that this movie travels around, and it's important to me that the world is aware of how france is dealing with all these topics, because i feel that the public opinion worldwide will have an impact on our country and on the way our country wants to be seen abroad. historically, the metoo movement in france hasn't enjoyed the same public industry support that hollywood's has. but recent news that france's most famous actor, gerard depardieu, would face trial this year over alleged sexual assault, which he denies, put questions of industry misconduct back in the spotlight. it wasn't justjudith godreche�*s film. the fury of many female film—makers could be felt in the topics and themes of the movies being shown at cannes this year.

les balconettes, another film in official selection, is directed by and stars noemie merlant, best known for the historical epic portrait of a lady on fire. les balconettes is the story of three women who, during a heatwave in marseille, take action against men who have mistreated them. the metoo movement helped me have more confidence to explore these things. i wanted that the movie would be colourful. punk. violent, because i wanted cathartic. i wanted to explore the feminine violence that is not so much showed. another french film, animale, is a story of a female bullfighter in danger from the bulls in the ring and the male—dominated industry around her. the head of the jury at cannes, director greta gerwig, did point out that over the seven years since the metoo

movement started in the usa, concrete steps have been taken to protect those working on films. the one i always think of is, um, is the rise of intimacy coordinators, and that was not something, when i was starting out, that happened at all. and now it's being built into films, and i think... i think of it the exact same way as i think of a stunt coordinator or a fight coordinator. it's part of building a safe environment. the festival may be over, but the conversation in the french cinema industry isn't. depardieu's trial later in the year will mean metoo allegations will continue to make global headlines. tom: the israel—gaza war was neverfarfrom the minds of festival—goers here in cannes, and it certainly coloured the perception of films from the middle east when they were screened. one film, shot in tel aviv before the current conflict, was a documentary that piqued my interest. it was called the belle from gaza.

# tell me, baby, baby do i walk like a boy? # do i speak like a boy? the belle from gaza shows transgender women, several from palestinian families, on the streets of tel aviv, discussing their lives. documenting these trans women, who really have to struggle in the face of bigotry, was something the film's director felt was important to do. they are the future in a certain way. not because everybody should become trans, i don't say that at all, but the courage to become who you are. it's not only the pain of the operations, it's not only... it's also the cruelty of the way people look at them. and so they develop such a humanity and such an intelligence.

# run, baby, run # baby, run... and also a joy and a beauty. they attract as much hate as they attract people. what do you think you learned about yourself as a result of making the movie? they made me like to be a woman a bit more. and why is that? i think they represent all the women. they have a sense of femininity, courage. because what they experience with their body is so strong. although no palestinian film made it into the official selection here at cannes, an offering from a danish palestinian director did make it into a prominent cannes sidebar called directors' fortnight. it was the only palestinian feature film shown at cannes. it's called to a land unknown, and it tells of palestinian cousins in dire straits in athens, trying to get to

germany. for to a land unknown�*s director, it was a great feat to have his palestinian feature film shown at cannes. it's so important, especially now, more than any time. as palestinians, we've always struggled to make ourselves visible and heard. having a palestinian film made is a miracle. having a palestinian—made film made and then come to cannes, the biggest kind of event of cinema is... it's a humbling experience, let's put it this way. his film tells the story of two palestinians stuck in athens who face big obstacles in trying to leave the country to get to germany. for me, it's about exploring how, when you as a human being have no rights, no documents to say

who you are or what you are, you basically don't exist. and this will to live against all odds, what do you do when you're stranded in this situation? the production got under way on location in greece with very little budget, money was raised along the way. the crew and cast were very committed. geoff arbourne, one of the film's british producers, believed in this film in part because it doesn't present migrants as one—dimensional. undocumented migrants, i think it shows a huge influx coming into europe, and it sees them in a different light. it sees them as a kind of nuance, much more authentic in who they are. they always play on cliches of the refugee as a victim. or there's maybe the oud music that comes on or... and i wanted to do something more like a film about exiles, young palestinian men in greece, but shot...shoot greece as, say, it was like

a war movie, one of those vietnam films that we used to watch from the �*70s and �*80s. but some say it's a heist film, some say it feels like a thriller. i wanted to play with that and notjust do a one—to—one realistic social drama about refugees. to a land unknown enjoyed quite a high profile in cannes, notjust because it was a powerfulfilm, but also because of the ongoing israel—gaza war, which has heightened media interest in the challenges facing palestinians. the british presence in cannes this year suggested change. the usual elder statesman of british cinema, figures like ken loach and mike leigh were absent. instead, a group of younger film—makers from different diverse backgrounds were making their presence felt at the festival with

a variety of films. we asked critic kaleem aftab to give us his impressions of the british films at cannes. kaleem aftab: bird is the only british film in competition at cannes this year, and it's the new film from andrea arnold, who previously was in competition with fish tank... what's wrong with you?! you're what's wrong with me! ..and whose best—known film is probably american honey. security, aisle number 4. .. like american honey, it deals with families in trouble and young people who are trying to make themselves heard in the great rabble of society. this one's set in the south of england. it stars barry keoghan as a father, playing bug, and his daughter is a 12—year—old who's of mixed race. and as the film transpires, it turns into a social realist fantasy that plays on imaginary friends. at cannes, bird has played really well. the impact is that people really liked it. it got enjoyable reviews, but people did feel it was a kind of

lightweight andrea arnold. there is a big change in the british films that we're seeing at cannes this year, and it comes down to what i believe is a new generation of film—makers. and this generation has come in from different backgrounds, they're using their britishness, but also their heritage. santosh is completely set in india, and it's the tale of a widow who is told that she can keep her pension and her late husband's salary by becoming a policewoman herself. and then the film develops quite fantastically into a real depiction of the struggles of indian society today. there's another british film set in india, this time in mumbai, and it's sister midnight. and what i really loved about this film is it tells the story of a toxic relationship and an arranged marriage gone wrong in a way that we've never seen before.

and it's kind of a very funny demise of a relationship. and it makes you wonder the whole way through what's going to happen, while keeping you laughing. on becoming a guinea fowl is another british film, and this one is from a welsh zambian film—maker, and her new film is about a woman who, at the beginning we see come across a dead body and she calls her father. and we think it's going to be a thriller, and it turns into a real delightful look at her whole life. as she sits there, she reminisces on her past and you realise about patriarchal demise and what made her the woman she is. even though this story completely takes place in zambia, the same story could have been told in the uk. and i think that's important. and that's the same of the indian films — that all of those stories could easily have been about police corruption in the uk, about patriarchal society in the uk, and also about conflict and the kind of extremes of life that we're seeing in society now. and they're reflected

as a worldwide phenomenon. tom brook: if you walk along the croisette here in cannes — that's the walkway that hugs the beach — you come across very interesting people and very interesting french dogs, like ginger here. and dogs are a very big theme at the film festival this year, both on the red carpet and in screening rooms. la fabuleuse actrice meryl streep. meryl streep might have been the big star on opening night, but so was messi, getting masses of attention on the red carpet. the dog appeared in the legal drama anatomy of a fall, which won an oscar for its screenplay. the film was launched at cannes last year, where messi won the palm dog award, given to the best performance by a dog in film at cannes. the annual award was created by toby rose, who was from the uk more than 20 years ago. in these few short months between last year's palm dog and now, messi has become

something of a superstar. namechecked at the baftas, given a seat at the oscars, and this year has been all over cannes, including the hallowed red carpet, with his microphone, doing showbiz interviews. what an amazing career. this year is, without doubt, the doggiest cannes ever. true, messi wasn't the only canine attraction. a dog called kodi was a big star in cannes, having the lead role, so to speak, in the french swiss film dog on trial. based on some real—life cases, it portrays a lawyer who's defending in court a dog who faces being put down because it's bitten a human three times. the dog in france and in switzerland is considered assimilated to a thing. that's why we can eat them, kill them, because we don't kill them, we destroy them like if they were objects. but this lawyer, avril, she proves that the dog is not

a thing because he has needs. so that was...that was interesting for me. another canine picture in cannes was the feature film black dog from china. black dog is quite incredible because it's about a gentleman with a sidecar in which we see the lovely greyhound dog that is his companion. this story is all about his attempt to get the strays looked after properly. and i think that message, especially within the context of china, is a powerful one. dogs were a great unifier at cannes this year. the international cinema festival differences could be put aside as people rallied around man's best friend. well, that brings a special

cannes edition of talking movies to a close. we hope you've enjoyed the show. please remember, you can always reach us online at... so, from me, tom brook, and the rest of the talking movies production crew here on the french riviera, it's goodbye as we leave you with some sights and sounds from this year's cannes film festival. french music plays

hello there. there were some warm weather around on saturday. top temperatures of 22 celsius in the south east, but we'll start to see some changes for the second half of the bank holiday weekend with sunny spells and thundery downpours moving in, all thanks to low pressure close by. as we head into sunday, these weather fronts will be pushing their way northwards, bringing outbreaks of rain, the odd heavier burst as it pushes northwards. but as we head into the latter parts of the morning, into the afternoon, sunshine will appear pretty widely for england, wales and northern ireland and that'll set off some heavy and thundery downpours at times. further north, we'll continue to see some showery rain with a bit of sunshine across northern scotland, but that will impact the temperatures — not quite as warm as saturday, highs of 16 to 19 degrees.

as we head through sunday night, though, showers and thunderstorms rattle on for a while into the evening before fading out for england and wales with clear skies here, but further cloud, patchy rain likely across the northern half of the country and temperatures range from around nine to 11 degrees. so into our bank holiday monday, it looks like that weather front continues to push northwards. so that's where we're going to see some of the heaviest of the showers across the north and east of scotland. we'll start off with some sunshine around, but again, showers will develop and pretty much anywhere could catch a heavy maybe thundery shower. but the focus of them will be across northern and east of scotland and maybe northeast england. maybe later in the day, something a bit drier and brighter pushing into western areas. but temperatures a few degrees down, still 15 to 17 degrees, still quite pleasant in any sunshine. as we head into tuesday, low pressure starts to move in off the atlantic. starts fine across scotland, northern england, the sunshine begins to fade as cloud breeze rain

starts to push up from the south and the west. there'll be mainly patchy in nature, but conditions will go downhill through the day, though i think the northeast of scotland and the northern isles should largely escape and stay dry until after dark. and temperature wise again, the mid to high teens. low pressure is with us then as we move through the middle part of the upcoming week. but then the signs of it moving away in this area of high pressure wants to topple in from the west, so that should slowly settle things down, i think, towards the end of the week and as we head into next weekend, increasing dry weather with some sunshine so should start to feel a touch warmer, too.

live from washington, this is bbc news. russia bombs a superstore in ukraine's second city of kharkiv — killing at least six people. kenya's president william ruto tells the bbc about a plan to send kenyan police to haiti to tackle gang violence as he receives a state visit at the white house. and — a video shared by donald trump appearing to reference nazi germany sparks controversy. our reporter has been investigating its origins. hello i'm helena humphrey. glad you could join me. ukraine's president, volodymyr zelensky, says a deadly air strike on a crowded superstore is an act of �*russian madness'. officials say at least six people were killed

and more than 30 others injured on saturday