Cannes ‘08: Natalie Portman’s ‘Cannes do’ spirit

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Natalie Portman is nothing if not resilient.

As a jury member for this year’s Cannes Film Festival, not only does Portman have to attend all of the often long and difficult films in selection, she also has to look fabulous on the red carpet for evening premieres. Then still her work isn’t done. Late into the evening Portman has been making appearances at premiere after-parties and gala benefits.

Last night, for example, Portman and fellow juror Alexandra Maria Lara attended AmfAR’s Cinema Against AIDS gala (full coverage by The Envelope’s Pete Hammond here) where the two were implored by host Harvey Weinstein to vote for Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Che.’ Jury president Sean Penn later turned up for the AmfAR after-party where he was probably subject to similar campaigning.

So how will Natalie Portman, Sean Penn, Alexandra Maria Lara and the rest of the Cannes jury vote?

There is an unending amount of speculation about which film will win the Palme d’Or this year. One camp argues that, given jury president Sean Penn’s great interest in Latin America, marked particularly by his public support of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, ‘Che’ is a shoo-in to win. Yet another camp insists that Ari Folman’s animated Israeli quasi-doc ‘Waltz With Bashir’ is in it to win it based on the film’s innovative story-telling style, powerful antiwar message, and unique personal point of view. Still others will tell you that this is finally the year that Clint Eastwood will win Cannes, after a handful of tries, with ‘Changeling’ his adroit period thriller about a single mother’s battle (Angelina Jolie) against corrupt Los Angeles civic leaders in the late-1920s.

The list of contenders and the arguments go on. We won’t know until Sunday when the Cannes jury reveals their picks. Until then, here are photos from Cannes, including coverage from last night’s big AmfAR’s Cinema Against AIDS gala, in addition to a few red carpet fashion photos from the Palais.

-- Sheigh Crabtree