PARIS – The annual Cannes Film Festival has opened amid growing concerns over the rapid rise of artificial intelligence in the film industry and the noticeable absence of major Hollywood studios from this year’s event.

A total of 22 films are competing for the Palme d’Or, the festival’s top prize for Best Film, which was awarded last year to It Was Just an Accident by Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi.

Ahead of the festival, discussions surrounding artificial intelligence and Hollywood’s limited participation dominated attention more than the competing films themselves.

Festival director Thierry Frémaux voiced strong opposition to the growing use of AI in filmmaking, citing fears over job losses among dubbing artists, translators, writers, and actors.

“What is certain… is that here in Cannes, we stand with the artists, we stand with the screenwriters, and we stand with everyone in these professions, with actors and voice actors alike,” Frémaux said during a press conference Monday.

He also suggested that films in the future could carry labels similar to organic food certifications, indicating productions made without artificial intelligence.

“we will say ‘This film has been made without artificial intelligence,’” he added.

Despite the concerns, the festival announced a multi-year sponsorship agreement with Meta, the social media company owned by Mark Zuckerberg and a major investor in AI technologies.

Meta has recently become involved in controversy linked to a documentary by Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh. The filmmaker reportedly partnered with the company to obtain AI-generated footage of John Lennon and Yoko Ono for the documentary John Lennon: The Last Interview.

Artificial intelligence was also one of the major issues behind the 2023 Hollywood strikes, during which actors and writers warned that unregulated AI could threaten jobs across the entertainment sector.

In France, thousands of actors and filmmakers signed an open letter in February accusing AI tools of “plundering” creative talent and comparing the technology to a “devouring hydra.”

Soderbergh remains one of the few major Hollywood figures attending Cannes this year, as prominent filmmakers including Steven Spielberg and Christopher Nolan were absent from the festival lineup.

Hollywood studios have also largely skipped European film festivals this year, with companies such as Universal Pictures, Disney, and Warner Bros. Discovery not premiering major productions in Cannes or at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year.

“I really hope that the studios come back,” Frémaux said Monday, attributing the absence of major studios to scheduling conflicts and ongoing industry instability.

He noted that American cinema remains represented through films such as Paper Tiger by James Gray, starring Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson, as well as The Man I Love by Ira Sachs featuring Rami Malek.

The festival also announced a special reunion event celebrating the 25th anniversary of The Fast and the Furious, with cast members Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, and Jordana Brewster expected to attend.

Meanwhile, John Travolta is set to unveil his directorial debut, Propeller One-Way Night Coach, which follows a young boy’s journey during the “golden age of aviation.”

The festival opens with a screening of the French film The Electric Kiss before the main competition officially begins Wednesday.

This year’s jury is headed by South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook alongside actress Demi Moore and other international film personalities.

“I cannot help but feel a sense of emotion, realizing that for the first time a Korean has become the head of the jury,” Park told AFP on Monday in Cannes. “The moment has finally come.”