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— As it turned out, “Megalopolis” wasn’t the only fable premiering. Also debuting in competition was Andrea Arnold’s “Bird,” a bleakly naturalistic coming-of-age drama with touches of magical realism. Nykiya Adams stars as Bailey, 12, who encounters a strange drifter (Franz Rogowski). Family is a key word for Arnold, too, but for different reasons. She typically fosters an exuberant collective, mixing professional and non-professional actors. When the cast of “Bird,” including several young kids, hit the carpet, they had a grand time together. NOTABLE NUMBER: 45. That’s how many of master documentarian Frederick Wiseman’s films are now digitized, with a touring retrospective coming this year and next to Paris, London and New York’s Lincoln Center. The 94-year-old was in Cannes to screen the restored version of 1969’s “Law and Order,” in which he observed the routines of Kansas City police officers. ADVERTISEMENT LA CITATION DU JOUR: “There’s certainly other stories there. Mainly because we wrote, in order to tell the story of ‘Fury Road,’ we had to know the back story of Furiosa and Max in the year before. But I’ll definitely wait to see how this goes before we even think about that.” — Miller, at the press conference for “Furiosa.” A film about Mad Max in the year leading up to “Fury Road” has been written for some time. Now, we’ll see how “Furiosa,” which cost nearly $170 million to make, does when it arrives in theaters next week. The very well received Cannes bow (and a secured release date in China) should help. Grace VanderWaal, from left, Giancarlo Esposito, Aubrey Plaza, director Francis Ford Coppola, and Romy Mars pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Megalopolis' at the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP) Grace VanderWaal, Giancarlo Esposito, Aubrey Plaza, Francis Ford Coppola, and Romy Mars (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP) Director Andrea Arnold, from left, Jasmine Jobson, Carlos O'Connell, Jason Buda and Frankie Box pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Bird' at the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (Photo by Daniel Cole/Invision/AP) Andrea Arnold, Jasmine Jobson, Carlos O'Connell, Jason Buda and Frankie Box at the premiere of 'Bird' (Photo by Daniel Cole/Invision/AP) Franz Rogowski, left, and Barry Keoghan pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Bird' at the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (Photo by Daniel Cole/Invision/AP) Franz Rogowski and Barry Keoghan at the premiere of 'Bird' (Photo by Daniel Cole/Invision/AP) Anya Taylor-Joy, left, and director George Miller pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga' at the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP) Anya Taylor-Joy and George Miller at the photo call for ‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’ (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP) WEDNESDAY, MAY 15 Cannes properly kicked into high gear with a full slate of films and the high-wattage premiere of George Miller’s “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.” The movie’s afterparty by the beach was fittingly adorned with both sand and fire, but thankfully no War Boys. (Or is War Boyz?) ADVERTISEMENT — The Cannes red carpet has the potential to mint a glamorous young star, and that was very much the case for Anya Taylor-Joy. She perfectly matched the moment at the “Furiosa” premiere, posing stylishly and playfully saluting her director. But as much has been made of Taylor-Joy inheriting the role from Charlize Theron, it’s worth noting that for a substantial amount of the two-and-a-half-hour film, Furiosa is played as a child by a younger performer, Alyla Browne. And, she, too, is very good. So cheers for both Young Furiosa and Even Younger Furiosa. Speaking in Cannes, where their movie had its world premiere, “Furiosa: A Mad Max” stars reveal they spent time between takes rolling around on the floor to get even more dirty before filming. (May 16) — A few standout films premiered in different sections. In competition, Magnus von Horn’s “The Girl with the Needle” is an imposingly grim, expressionist black-and-white film about a heinous crime in post-WWI Denmark. It’s bleak stuff, but the way the film reserves its most damning judgment for an uncaring society is impossible to shake. Another standout in Critics’ Week: Jonathan Millet’s “Ghost Trail.” It’s an engrossing, mournful detective story about exile, starring Adam Bessa — a strikingly potent screen presence — as a Syrian refugee hunting his former torturer in France. ADVERTISEMENT — Something you might not know? The Cannes red carpet is replaced — or at least the main bit in the middle — every few days. Because it’s been rainy, the first costume change was Wednesday. That’s, undoubtedly, more often than many Cannes journalists clean their formal wear. NOTABLE NUMBER: 6. No, 7. Nope, 8. Those were the trade report counts for the length of the standing ovation for “Furiosa.” This whole enterprise is a bunch of manipulated stagecraft and best dismissed as any kind of real metric. But if we’re going to do this, let’s at least get an official stopwatch. ADVERTISEMENT LA CITATION DU JOUR: “For me, it’s quite a bizarre time. There’s so much hate and weird fantasies projected at me. People are looking at me like I’m a radioactive thing.” — Judith Godrèche, the actor at the center of Cannes’ belated #MeToo movement, who premiered her short “Moi Aussi.” Anya Taylor-Joy poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga' at the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP) Anya Taylor-Joy salutes George Miller (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP) TUESDAY, MAY 14 Opening day in Cannes is relatively calm and straightforward, as far as Cannes days go. Just one movie premieres. Under gloomy skies, Cannes kicked off with “The Second Act,” a French comedy about a group of actors filming a movie directed by artificial intelligence. Meryl Streep was given an honorary Palme d’Or. And the jury headed by Greta Gerwig was introduced. — Cannes opening ceremonies are brief but singularly surreal. After a clip reel, Gerwig was serenaded with David Bowie’s “Modern Love” by Zaho de Sagazan, an homage to Gerwig’s “Frances Ha.” As the singer made her way from the audience to the stage, Gerwig seemed to be choking back both laughter and tears. — Last year’s Cannes is talked about with hushed tones because of how good it was — for the terrific lineup and for the post-Cannes success of some films. That made Messi, the dog from last year’s Palme winner “Anatomy of a Fall,” an especially welcome presence on the red carpet. The border collie, who’s been enlisted to shoot daily videos for French TV, frolicked up and down the carpet ahead of the opening ceremony. Cannes has strict rules about formal attire — women without heels were once turned away. But Messi went bare paws. — It’s been just over two months since the Oscars, but Gerwig wasn’t the only one stepping back into the spotlight. A fellow juror is best actress nomineeLily Gladstone, who said of the Cannes invite: “I thought I just got over my imposter syndrome last year.” NOTABLE NUMBER: Zero. The amount of times Messi soiled the red carpet. LA CITATION DU JOUR: “My mother, who is usually right about everything, said to me: ‘Meryl, my darling, you’ll see. It all goes so fast. So fast.’ And it has, and it does. Except for my speech, which is too long.” — Meryl Streep Jury president Greta Gerwig, right, points at Zaho de Sagazan during the opening ceremony of the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP) Jury president Greta Gerwig points at Zaho de Sagazan (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP) Jury president Greta Gerwig poses for photographers during the jury photo call at the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP) Greta Gerwig poses during the jury photo call (Photo by Scott Garfitt/Invision/AP) Meryl Streep poses for photographers upon arrival at the awards ceremony and the premiere of the film 'The Second Act' during the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP) Meryl Streep arrives at the awards ceremony (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP) Louis Garrel, from left, Lea Seydoux, Raphael Quenard, and Manuel Guillot pose for photographers upon arrival at the awards ceremony and the premiere of the film 'The Second Act' during the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP) Louis Garrel, Lea Seydoux, Raphael Quenard, and Manuel Guillot (Photo by Scott Garfitt/Invision/AP) Jury member Eva Green poses for photographers upon arrival at the awards ceremony and the premiere of the film 'The Second Act' during the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (Photo by Daniel Cole/Invision/AP) Jury member Eva Green poses for photographers (Photo by Daniel Cole/Invision/AP) Messi the dog poses for photographers upon arrival at the awards ceremony and the premiere of the film 'The Second Act' during the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (Photo by Daniel Cole/Invision/AP) Messi the dog poses on the red carpet ahead of the awards ceremony (Photo by Daniel Cole/Invision/AP) ___ Come back here for more from Cannes throughout the festival, and find more AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/cannes-film-festival.