Michel Hazanavicius’s zombie comedy “Z (Comme Z),” which is set to open the Cannes Film Festival next month, has been renamed “Coupé” in France.
The decision to change the movie’s French title follows a letter from the Ukrainian Institute to the director and the Cannes Film Festival, as revealed by Variety, pointing out that “Z” is a pro-war symbol of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and had been used in pro-Russian demonstrations across Europe.
The letter from the Ukrainian org, which was signed by its managing director Volodymyr Sheiko, said that changing the film’s title would be a “gesture against the barbarity, violence and terror of the Russian army.”
In a statement on Monday, Hazanavicius said he will rename the movie “due to the symbolic charge that the letter Z has gained … and following the plea by Ukrainian filmmakers.
“The title was perhaps funny when [I] completed the film several months ago but it isn’t at all today and I can’t bear it,” he added.
The comedy is world premiering in Cannes on May 17 — the same day it will bow in local theaters.
Hazanavicius responded to the letter on Friday (April 22), telling Variety that he felt distraught at having caused the Ukrainian people any distress. “[It] makes me feel powerless and so sad, because it’s the last thing I wanted to do.
“I dedicated several years of my life to making a film called ‘The Search’ about the 1999 war between Chechnya and Russia, which showed the barbaric way in which the Russian army treated the people of Chechnya,” continued Hazanavicius. “I think I’m the only French filmmaker who made a film about this.”
At the time, however, he said it was “too late” for the French title to be changed with just weeks to go until its release in cinemas.
“Coupé’s” international title is still “Final Cut” and is expected to premiere at Cannes under that title instead of “Z (Comme Z)” as was initially planned. The movie was originally slated to bow at Sundance in January before the Utah festival’s last-minute decision to move online.
Contacted by Variety, the Cannes Film Festival has said it will comment on the matter later on Monday.
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