Rami Malek leads Cannes film on AIDS

Rami Malek arrived at the Cannes Film Festival this week with “The Man I Love,” an Ira Sachs film set in late-1980s New York and framed around art, desire and the AIDS crisis. FRANCE 24 highlighted the film in its May 20 festival coverage, describing Cannes as a showcase for stories of political upheaval and personal survival. (festival-cannes.com) Festival de Cannes lists the movie in Competition and says it screened on May 20 during the festival’s 79th edition, which runs from May 12 to May 23. (festival-cannes.com) The film gives Malek a lead role as Jimmy George, a downtown performance artist facing illness and death while still pursuing love. Reuters, in coverage republished by BusinessWorld, said Malek made his Cannes red-carpet debut on Wednesday with the film and quoted him calling the experience “an extraordinary pinch-yourself moment.” (youtube.com) ### Which film is FRANCE 24 talking about? “The Man I Love” is the Cannes title at the center of the FRANCE 24 segment. FRANCE 24’s description calls it Ira Sachs’ portrait of “art, desire and loss in 1980s New York,” while the Festival de Cannes synopsis says the story follows Jimmy George in “the vibrant era of late 80s New York.” (youtube.com) Ira Sachs returned to Competition with the film seven years after “Frankie,” according to Festival de Cannes. The festival article says Sachs developed the project with co-writer Maurício Zacharias, a longtime collaborator whose discussions with Sachs date back to the late 1980s. (bworldonline.com) ### Who does Rami Malek play, and who else is in it? Rami Malek stars as Jimmy George, whom Festival de Cannes describes as an “iconic figure in New York theatre.” Reuters’ Cannes report says Jimmy is an extravagant stage performer who has recently regained some spark after being hospitalized for complications connected to HIV/AIDS. (youtube.com) The cast also includes Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Rebecca Hall, Tom Sturridge and Luther Ford, according to the festival’s film page. IMDb lists the same principal cast and says the film runs 95 minutes. ### How is the film being framed at Cannes? (festival-cannes.com) FRANCE 24 framed the movie less as a production story than as part of a broader Cannes conversation about survival, intimacy and historical trauma. Its YouTube description places “The Man I Love” alongside other festival films dealing with wartime France and noir Los Angeles, but singles out Malek’s film as an intimate portrait tied to the AIDS crisis. Festival de Cannes uses similar language. (festival-cannes.com) Its synopsis says the film unfolds in a moment “between great illness and death” when “all beauty and love is possible,” underscoring the emotional and historical framing now attached to the title in festival coverage. (festival-cannes.com) ### What did Malek say in Cannes? Rami Malek told Reuters ahead of the premiere that appearing at Cannes for the first time was “an extraordinary pinch-yourself moment again.” Reuters identified the appearance as his Cannes debut. IMDb’s news wire, citing the Cannes reception, reported that the film received an eight-minute standing ovation and that Malek became emotional in the theater. (youtube.com) That account described “The Man I Love” as one of two American features in competition for the Palme d’Or this year. ### Where can viewers follow the story next? (festival-cannes.com) May 23 is the final day of the 79th Cannes Film Festival, according to FRANCE 24’s festival playlist. FRANCE 24’s segment on Malek and “The Man I Love” remains available on YouTube, while Festival de Cannes has posted the film’s official page and competition details on its site. (youtube.com) (imdb.com) (bworldonline.com)