Al Jazeera – Agencies:

Organizers of the Cannes Film Festival have chosen actor Johnny Depp’s first live-action film since his defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard as the opening film for the festival, which opens on May 16. France.

The French-language film, titled “Jeanne du Barry,” stars director and actress Jaywen Le Pescot as Jeanne Picot, a woman who rises from poverty to join King Louis XV’s inner circle, and Depp plays the king.

The actor behind “Pirates of the Caribbean” has not appeared in cinema or television since the end of the famous trial in June 2022.

The American actor is trying to restart his film career after winning a legal battle in the US against Hurd, who accused him of abuse and who denied ever assaulting Depp Hurd or any other woman.

Muhammad Al-Turki, CEO of the Red Sea International Film Festival – an organization affiliated with the Saudi Investment Fund – announced last January the participation in the production of the film “Jeanne du Barry”, adding: “We hope this cooperation will strengthen the ties between Saudi and French cinema.”

“This is the first of many international films to support female producers in front of and behind the camera,” Al-Turki added in a statement.

It is noteworthy that the Red Sea International Film Festival, launched in 2019, has participated in the financing of about 170 African and Arab films to date, its first contribution to European cinema.