Leonardo DiCaprio will present Robert De Niro with the honorary Palme d’Or for lifetime achievement at the Cannes Film Festival’s opening ceremony on Tuesday evening, Variety has confirmed.
DiCaprio and De Niro first starred together in the 1993 film “This Boy’s Life,” and reunited for “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which screened in official selection in Cannes in 2023.
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De Niro will also participate in a masterclass on Wednesday at the Debussy theater in the Palais. “The Raging Bull” and “Godfather Part II” Oscar winner is a Cannes veteran and presided over the Cannes jury in 2011, the year the Palme d’Or went to Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life.”
When the honor was first announced, De Niro said in a statement, “I have such close feelings for Festival de Cannes…Especially now when there’s so much in the world pulling us apart, Cannes brings us together — storytellers, filmmakers, fans, and friends. It’s like coming home.”
“There are faces that stand in for the seventh Art, and lines of dialogue that leave an indelible mark on cinephilia. With his interiorized style, which surfaces in a gentle smile or a harsh gaze, Robert De Niro has become a cinematic legend,” the festival said when announcing the honor.
Over his long career, De Niro has been acclaimed for his roles in films including “Mean Streets,” “1900” and “Taxi Driver,” which won Cannes’ Palme d’Or. His films “Once Upon a Time in America” and “The Mission” also played at the festival.
After the Palme d’Or ceremony, Amélie Bonnin’s musical comedy “Leave One Day” will screen.
DiCaprio appears next in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another,” which will likely premiere at a fall festival before its Sept. 16 release.
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