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The 74th Cannes film festival which was delayed because of the pandemic, is in full swing in the French Riviera, with plenty of well-heeled celebrities padding their way down the red carpets.
Premieres, screenings and press conferences are being hosted in abundance, as the festival, which runs until Saturday, July 17, brings together some of the film industry’s most highly anticipated titles, as well as some of the silver screen’s most famous faces.
There’s plenty of representation from the Mena region, from Arab stars to big-name celebrities donning looks by Arab designers.
At the opening ceremony, Palestinian-Dutch supermodel Bella Hadid looked glam in Jean Paul Gaultier for the annette screening on Tuesday.
Elisa Sednaoui, a model, actress and film director of Italian, Egyptian and French descent, wowed in Alberta Ferretti, while Leila Bekhti, a French-Algerian film and TV actress, looked stunning in Givenchy. Fellow French-Algerian star Tahar Rahim, who is among the jury alongside Maggie Gyllenhaal, arrived looking sharp in a suit.
French-Algerian director Mounia Meddour, who is part of this year’s Un Certain Regard jury, attended a photo call in crisp white separates, while Ola Farahat, a fashion blogger and social media star based in Dubai, arrived wearing an Alberta Ferretti strapless gown for the screening of Tout s’est bien passe (Everything Went Fine) on Wednesday.
Fashion designers from across the region made an appearance on the red carpet in the form of stunning, embellished gowns.
Kuwaiti Instagram star Fatima Almomen looked radiant as she attended the Annette screening in a form-fitting “gazar column gown” by Lebanese-Italian designer Tony Ward.
Elvira Jain, from Dubai, went to a Chopard dinner wearing Emirati label Dinal Melwani, a label much favoured by the model.
Meanwhile, Farhana Bodi, another fashion influencer from Dubai, wore a canary yellow ballgown by Oman’s Atelier Zuhar at the opening ceremony.
A few international stars also opted for looks from the Middle East, mostly by Lebanese designer Elie Saab.
