Here we go!
 

PostED ON 12.10.2025

Jeremy Allen White, Scott Cooper and Sean Penn © Lea Rener

Actor-director Sean Penn has taken a lap around the Halle Tony Garnier to salute the audience to the music of Bruce Springsteen. A few minutes later, after Shu Qi, Dominique Blanc, Kad Merad, Sabine Azéma, Franck Dubosc, Scott Cooper, Jeremy Allen White, Costa-Gavras and Nadia Tereszkiewicz take the stage, he declares the Lumière film festival open, as tradition dictates. ‘Some of us, the bearded ones, weren't quite in sync,’ jokes Franck Dubosc, pointing at Kad Merad, while Jeremy Allen White is applauded for correctly pronouncing the opening line in French.

© J-L Mège

Another tradition respected during the opening ceremony is the montage of short films featuring excerpts. This year, while celebrating 130 years of Lumière cinema, the festival also pays tribute to Robert Redford, and gives a glimpse into the works comprising the 2025 edition.

The moment has come for Sean Penn to launch the opening film, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, just recently restored. ‘I've heard my name a lot tonight, but luckily this film is being shown, so I'm going to regain my humility. Thanks to this work, I discovered why I love cinema. I worked with Jack Nicholson twice, on The Pledge and The Crossing Guard. It was an extraordinary opportunity. I still can't believe I had that privilege. From time to time, you meet an independent spirit who brings you back to cinema and makes you love it all over again. When two artists like Miloš Forman and Jack Nicholson come together, it's something very rare,’ concludes Sean Penn.

  Fanny Bellocq