CANNES, France — The wind that had whipped up hems and careful hair styles earlier in the afternoon died down just in time for the opening ceremony of the 79th Cannes Film Festival.
Jury member Ruth Negga went with a little nod to Ireland, wearing a green gown designed by Northern Irish designer Jonathan Anderson for Dior Haute Couture. The gown was hammered green satin, black lace inlays and a fringe of Dior threads, ribbons, and beads. She paired the look with Chopard jewelry.
It was a switch from her cool white look earlier in the day, a satin suit from Celine for the photocall. She was styled by Karla Welch.
Demi Moore went with Jacquemus for both her daytime and evening looks.
For the opening ceremony, Moore sported a sleek white column gown from the independent French designer’s Fall 2026 collection. The dress was a sculptural white sequined bustier gown with a dramatic train, paired with matching sequined heels and a pochette.
Moore completed the ensemble with a stunning 18-karat white gold necklace set with more than 226 carats of diamonds from Chopard’s high jewelry collection.
For the earlier afternoon photocall, the actress wore a fun multicolored polka-dot dress accented with oversized protruding dots that appeared to burst outward from the silhouette. It was a playful start to the film festival.
Filmmaker and fellow jury member Chloé Zhao appeared at the afternoon photocall wearing a look from Hermès Spring 2026.
Elsewhere, jury president Park Chan-wook wore Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello, including a double-breasted tuxedo jacket in grain de poudre, a silk satin Yves bow tie, a poplin cotton shirt, tuxedo trousers and Stanton patent leather derbies.
Pierre Salvadori’s “Electric Venus,” which screened out of competition, opened the festival. Star Vimala Pons wore Louis Vuitton: a bright blue velvet dress featuring long sleeves, pointy sculpted shoulders and a deep front cutout, paired with silver sandals. She accessorized with pieces from the house’s high jewelry collection.
Co-stars Anaïs Demoustier and Gilles Lellouche both chose Prada for the occasion.
Inside the Palais des Festivals, “Lord of the Rings” director Peter Jackson was tapped for an Honorary Palme d’Or, seemingly in disbelief.
“I’ve still got to work out why I am getting a Palme d’Or, I am not a Palme d’Or type of guy,” he joked.
On stage, he was reunited with film series star Elijah Wood, who reflected on how Jackson had changed the course of his life, before Gong Li and Jane Fonda came on stage to officially declare the festival open.
Reflecting the international reach of the festival, Li made her declaration in Mandarin, while Fonda continued in French. And thus the fortnight of fashion and film kicked off, even as the streets of Cannes felt quieter than in past years, with fewer American blockbusters on tap.
