This week in Culture: The best of the Met Gala and the one filmmaker to look out for at Cannes 2025
On this week’s cultural roundup, we dive into the Met Gala, which this year celebrated the theme of Black dandyism, and spotlight filmmaker Julia Ducournau, a previous Palme d’Or winner, who is set to premiere her new film 'Alpha' at Cannes.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/05/09/this-week-in-culture-the-best-of-the-met-gala-and-the-one-filmmaker-to-look-out-for-at-can
Spark your senses, wake your wonder. Euronews Culture seeks to show creativity in action and inspire our audience to explore the world through the five senses. Start your journey through the best of Europe's arts, gastronomy, traditions and high-end craftsmanship.
On this week’s cultural roundup, we dive into the Met Gala, which this year celebrated the theme of Black dandyism, and spotlight filmmaker Julia Ducournau, a previous Palme d’Or winner, who is set to premiere her new film 'Alpha' at Cannes.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/05/09/this-week-in-culture-the-best-of-the-met-gala-and-the-one-filmmaker-to-look-out-for-at-can
Spark your senses, wake your wonder. Euronews Culture seeks to show creativity in action and inspire our audience to explore the world through the five senses. Start your journey through the best of Europe's arts, gastronomy, traditions and high-end craftsmanship.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to another episode of our Cultural Review.
00:06I'm Tecumbo Sulaco and joining me today is my fashionable colleague, David Morikant.
00:12You look great. How are you, David?
00:14I mean, better after that intro.
00:17A little bit bemused. I don't really get that many compliments of my style.
00:21I'm a man about town, you know. I wouldn't have anybody else...
00:24Never been accused of that. But thank you, my sweet Ravioli.
00:27That is very, very, very kind of you.
00:30Well, fashion is on my mind, not only when I see you, but because this week we've seen some incredible outfits at the Met Gala.
00:38I know you're a big fan. Tell me more.
00:40Listen, I'm not going to lie to you. I'm ambivalent about the Met Gala.
00:44Yeah, I know. You're lying to me already.
00:46Right. But no, it was impressive.
00:48It was nice seeing Janelle Monae in that kind of boxy suit with, you know, with the monocle on.
00:55And, you know, it's always great seeing Dochi and Diana Ross, who looked absolutely incredible.
01:01But I have to admit, it's one of those things.
01:04And I'm going to have to defer to you on this one is I get that it's a big deal for the world of fashion.
01:09I get that it is impressive just seeing all these incredible outfits and everything like that.
01:14And the theme this year, which you'll be able to tell us more about, was interesting.
01:18But to me, I'm having a hard time not comparing it or likening it, at least, to Coachella, in the sense that Coachella is not really about music.
01:29It's about creating a vibe for influencers.
01:32And here I'm questioning, is it still relevant for fashion or is this just a way of very wealthy people to just show off?
01:41Maybe at a time when that could seem a little crass.
01:45Yeah, well, it certainly, I think, is open to accusations of being vulgar and out of place.
01:52Definitely, it's not for me to defend.
01:54I didn't get an invite, despite my evident dandiness here.
01:58That's the real tragedy.
01:59It's, you know, I should maybe give a shout out to M&S for those of the people who follow it.
02:05M&S who?
02:06Yeah, guess where?
02:07But it is an incredibly popular event, as we've seen.
02:13It does bring out not only the pop stars and the politicians.
02:17Kamala Harris, you know, made her first real public appearance since, of course, her failed bid for the White House.
02:24But, you know, on a political level, this being the theme of it being superfine tailoring, black dandyism, the first show since 2003 dedicated to menswear.
02:36It's an important event, yeah, for sure.
02:39But not only for those potential political reasons, but, you know, it's a platform for well-established designers.
02:45You know, we've long sung the praises of Coleman Domingo, Ambassador for Valentino, but also for up-and-coming designers as well.
02:54It's, you know, the world is looking, and it can really make people's careers.
02:59No, absolutely.
02:59And, I mean, clearly it's popular and it works, because I think, if I recall correctly, this year's edition, I think they've had a haul of 31 million, which is, I think, a record for the Met Gala.
03:10So, I mean, good on them, considering, you know, the invites are, I think, 75,000 in order to get a table.
03:18I'm going to get my number straight, 350,000 for a table of 10.
03:23But at the same time, like, so you say black dandyism, and some people really got the assignment.
03:31They looked incredible, but there were some others, as pleasant as it was to see, where you were just wondering, are you just here to just strut your stuff?
03:39I don't know, I felt a little bit bemused by just how you are reflecting a culture, you are honouring it, but what difference are you making to it?
03:49Because where does the money go?
03:50Well, the money is meant to go towards the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
03:55It's a wing which especially looks after costumes and the history of design as well.
04:00But, yeah, you're not sure exactly where the money goes.
04:04I'm not a trustee for MoMA, but it's billed as a charity event.
04:09And what I think is interesting also is that it's a model which lots of European museums now are looking to emulate.
04:17We've already seen this earlier this year when the Louvre had their star-studded bash.
04:23Unfortunately, we, again, didn't get an invite.
04:25But we saw, you know, what is going on with that?
04:28What's a boy to do? What is a boy to do?
04:30You know, you can dress in pink all day, but, yeah, you're not pink.
04:33But, yes, as I say, it is a model which other European institutions are looking to emulate
04:38because it's at these times, straightened times when cultural budgets are being squeezed enormously.
04:46So anything which can generate interest, money to get people into museums.
04:52And we can perhaps see some pictures from the exhibition which will be on at the moment for a couple of months now
04:58where it delves into the history of tailoring and, as you say, celebrates the black culture
05:05and the contribution that many people have made.
05:07OK, David, well, let's shift our focus now to look at the Cannes Film Festival,
05:36the world's greatest and most glamorous film festival, many would say.
05:41What would you got your eye on, your critical eye? Tell us.
05:45Well, one filmmaker in particular who I absolutely adore is coming back to Cannes,
05:52considering her first two films premiered in Cannes.
05:55And she will be in competition, and that's Juliette de Corneau.
05:59And this year she's bringing her film Alpha to competition, which will be released in cinemas after the festival.
06:07There's going to be a staggered release. We're not quite sure when yet.
06:10And we don't really know all that much about the film so far.
06:13We know that it's set in the 80s, in a city that's vaguely mirrored on New York,
06:21and that it follows an 11-year-old girl who has to wrestle with the fact that one of her family members
06:29is taken ill in the backdrop of the AIDS crisis.
06:33She said it's going to be her most personal and most profound work to date,
06:40which is, well, it promises very, very much.
06:43Because as a storyteller, she is, I think, unparalleled when it comes to talking about themes of family,
06:50of nonconformity, of ostracization.
06:54And I'm absolutely giddy to see this in the cinema when it comes out.
06:58Okay, now she's, of course, already down in history as a Palme d'Or winner,
07:04just the second, I think, female Palme d'Or winner.
07:07For people who don't know her, where should they start?
07:10So her first film, Raw, Grave in its original title,
07:14follows a young woman, Justine, who's brilliantly played by Garonce Marie,
07:19who is a lifelong vegetarian.
07:21And she integrates a veterinary school, like her parents did before her,
07:27and where her sister, Alex, currently studies.
07:31And during a particularly vicious set of hazing rituals,
07:37she is forced to eat a raw rabbit kidney.
07:41And obviously, this triggers a rash, considering she's not used to meat,
07:47but it also triggers some urges,
07:50be they sexual and a little bit more intense.
07:54And essentially, first and foremost, it's a coming-of-age film,
07:59and in the same way that Carrie or Ginger Snaps did it.
08:05But here, Juliette Cornu uses the story of cannibalism, essentially,
08:12to say something more,
08:13to genuinely put you in this very claustrophobic atmosphere
08:18and talk about womanhood, about sisterhood,
08:23about the bonds of family,
08:25and certainly about emancipation.
08:29And it's, at times, a very nauseatingly tactile film,
08:35which had the most profound impact on me,
08:38just purely because it really does so well what it sets out to do.
08:44It achieves it completely.
08:46It is breathtaking.
08:48And, in my mind, genuinely one of the strongest films
08:51of the last 25 years.
08:53Okay. And what about her other work?
08:55Well, this is Titan.
08:57This is the film for which she won the Palma d'Or.
09:01In my mind, it's one of the most uncompromising films
09:04to ever win the Palma d'Or.
09:06It's unpredictable and very, very intense.
09:09It follows, for those who haven't seen it,
09:12this model who has an erotic fascination with automobiles,
09:19and she sets off on a murder spree.
09:22We're not here to judge.
09:24To reach their own.
09:26But the thing is,
09:27is that in order to avoid being captured by the authorities,
09:30she assumes the identity of a young boy
09:35who went missing 10 years prior.
09:37And I won't go into any more,
09:41but this is a film a little bit like Raw,
09:44where people kind of tend to stop at,
09:47oh, it's that cannibalism film.
09:48Oh, Titan.
09:49Oh, it's that film where a woman gets impregnated by a car.
09:53And that is true.
09:55But it goes beyond that.
09:57It goes very, very much in some of the themes
09:59that Julia de Cornu, I think, excels at
10:03when it comes to nonconformity,
10:04when it comes to really playing with audiences' sympathies.
10:08But certainly one thing that strikes me,
10:11and which links both films,
10:12and could potentially link it with Alpha,
10:15her upcoming film,
10:17is the fact that these films are actually love stories.
10:19And more than that,
10:23they're films about uncompromised love,
10:27love that knows no boundaries.
10:30Because as we see in Raw,
10:32it is about familial bonds,
10:35about familial and inherited trauma,
10:38but what family members will do
10:39in order to protect each other,
10:41in order to love each other no matter what.
10:43And without spoiling Titan for those who haven't seen it,
10:46the end scene in particular,
10:49is actually incredibly hopeful.
10:52It's like the birth of a new world,
10:54of a stronger world,
10:56and of a world that essentially,
10:58in which there is acceptance.
11:00So really, these films,
11:02no matter how violent and graphic they are,
11:05are very much twisted,
11:08but very intense,
11:10and ultimately rather beautiful love stories.
11:12David, thank you for that in-depth look at Julia De Corno.
11:16We will be back next week
11:17with more on what's on our cultural radar.
11:20Do stay with us for more
11:21on what's happening across Europe this week.