The producers of a Japanese film which screened at the Cannes film festival have called for an investigation and safety review after one of their team was struck and badly injured by a falling palm tree on the famous Croisette boulevard.
The incident occurred on Saturday as the team behind Brand New Landscape, which was selected for the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar, were walking along Cannes’ celebrated seafront road when a three-metre tree fell on to the pavement. Local authorities said a man in his 30s was injured.
According to Variety, a statement from the film’s production companies, Siglo Co Ltd and LesPros Entertainment Co Ltd, said the injured man was “a LesPros Entertainment production producer escorting the cast” and that he “was immediately transported to a local hospital by emergency services”. It added: “Medical examination confirmed fractures to the nose and parts of the body. Fortunately, the producer remained conscious and is currently in stable condition.”
A festival attendee, Marthy Fink, said the tree was blown over by the wind. “There was a terrible gust of wind and I heard a cry. It knocked a man to the ground, badly injuring him.”
The producers said: “Given that the Cannes film festival remains ongoing, and the incident took place in a highly frequented area, we sincerely hope for a swift investigation into the cause and the implementation of preventative measures to ensure such accidents do not happen again in the future.”
