Cannes 2016: Woody Allen Opens Festival As Son Ronan Farrow Resurrects Controversy #Cannes2016

Ronan names several large media outlets in his column, including the Hollywood Reporter itself and L.A. Times, as being part of what he called a "self-perpetuating spin machine" that silences voices like Dylan's in favor of powerful men in the industry like Woody Allen.

In what has to be an unintentional echo of Ronan Farrow's message, none of the media at the Cannes conference raised the issue of sexual abuse at all. Master of ceremonies Laurent Lafitte came the closest to addressing the Woody Allen controversy directly during the opening ceremony.

"It's very nice that you've been shooting so many movies in Europe, even if you are not being convicted for rape in the U.S."

However, along with the setting of Cannes as a film festival, the scenario does raise many questions about the nature of entertainment journalism and self-censorship of the media. Surely, after the deliberate and provocative timing of Ronan's piece, questions about the allegations were at least on the minds of all the journalists present. Yet still, no questions asked. Ronan comments on the phenomenon in his Hollywood Reporter piece.

"That kind of silence isn't just wrong. It's dangerous. It sends a message to victims that it's not worth the anguish of coming forward. It sends a message about who we are as a society, what we'll overlook, who we'll ignore, who matters and who doesn't."

Despite the opening night glamour and perhaps in spite of the Wood Allen controversy, Cafe Society drew less than enthusiastic reviews, according to a CBC report. The film stars Jesse Eisenberg as a boy from Brooklyn working for his uncle (played by Steve Carell,) a high-powered Hollywood agent. Woody Allen's film is set in Los Angeles in the 1930s, a period the 80-year-old director has notably been fond of in the past. Some of his best known films, such as The Purple Rose Of Cairo and Bullets Over Broadway, were set during that period.

Brushing off an awkward opening and the Woody Allen controversy, Cannes 2016 is set to continue to May 22, 2016.

[Image by Thibault Camus/AP Photo]