On Monday, May 16th, the Festival de Cannes will welcome Robert De Niro in the Grand Théâtre Lumière of the Palais des Festivals for a special screening of Hands of Stone by Venezuelan director Jonathan Jakubowicz, within Festival’s Official Selection.
Hands of Stone tells a story about legendary Panamanian boxer Roberto Duràn (Edgar Ramírez) and his relationship with his manager and coach Ray Arcel (Robert De Niro), who is going to take him to the greatest worldwide successes of the ring in the ’70s and ’80s, including legendary fights against Sugar Ray Leonard.
„I’m excited to be coming back to Cannes especially with this movie Hands of Stone that I’m so proud of“, De Niro said. „This movie is uplifting, triumphant and a good time for audiences, so I’m looking forward to seeing my friends from across the world of cinema in joining us for this fun event.”
Hands of Stone is produced and distributed by the Weinstein Company. Harvey Weinstein declared: “Hands of Stone is vintage De Niro. Anyone who knows Bob, knows what a passion he has for boxing and his huge input into this movie made it very realistic and smart. On behalf of the company, we are thrilled that the Festival de Cannes chose to honor Bob this year with a special screening. It promises to be a fun time and a fantastic night to pay tribute to one of the great men of our industry.”
Let us remind that De Niro starred in two Palmes d’or winners, Taxi Driver by Martin Scorsese in 1976 and Mission by Roland Joffé in 1986, that he’s been nominated seven times at the Academy Awards and that he won two Oscars, first for The Godfather II by Francis Ford Coppola in 1975 and second for Raging Bull by Martin Scorsese in 1981. He was also President of the Jury of the Festival de Cannes in 2011.