THIERRY FREMAUX

The war in Ukraine took a starring role on the opening night of the 75th Cannes Film Festival and it has rarely been far out of frame since.

Tom Cruise mania descended Wednesday in Cannes where the actor made a whirlwind appearance at the French film festival to screen “Top Gun: Maverick,” exalt the big screen and sit for a rare interview.

With tensions around the war in Ukraine as a backdrop, the Cannes Film Festival plans to host some 35,000 people as the movie industry looks to reclaim its pre-pandemic glamour.

Gaspard Ulliel, a star of French cinema, had appeared in American productions before, but “Moon Knight” would have likely exposed him to one of his largest audiences yet.

The Cannes Film Festival rolled out the red carpet for the first time in more than two years on Tuesday, launching the French Riviera spectacular with the premiere of Leos Carax’s “Annette,” the introduction of Spike Lee’s jury, and with high hopes for shrugging off a punishing pandemic year for cinema.

The Cannes Film Festival on Thursday unveiled a lineup of films from big-name auteurs — including Wes Anderson, Asghar Farhadi, Mia Hansen-Løve and Sean Penn — for its 74th edition in July.

Cannes Festival director Thierry Fremaux, left, festival president Pierre Lescure, sit during the presentation of the festival lineup, in an empty cinema Wednesday, June 3, 2020 in Paris. The Cannes Film Festival was canceled due to the pandemic but it announced the films that would have played at the French Riviera festival. Those films, festival organizers say, will be able to promote themselves with the Cannes "stamp of approval." The French festival, originally slated for mid-May, initially considered postponing to July but ultimately gave up on a 2020 edition. The films will be able to brand themselves as part of the official 2020 Cannes Film Festival selection.

The Cannes Film Festival won't kick off as planned on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)CANNES – The stars stayed home, their beach backdrop is closed and the prestigious grounds of the Cannes Film Festival have been repurposed as a homeless shelter. Cannes should have been buzzing with cinema glitterati on Tuesday, which was scheduled as the first day of this year's film festival. The world’s biggest film festival was canceled for the first time since World War II. He has covered the Cannes Film Festival several times in recent years.