CANNES: A Donald Trump biopic looked set to trigger huge controversy in Cannes on Monday as the world-famous film festival reached its midway point.

“The Apprentice”, a look at Trump’s formative years, will have an evening premiere on the French Cote d’Azur, where the word from critics is that it pulls no punches in its depiction of the tycoon-turned-president.

It stars Sebastian Stan, best-known for playing the Winter Soldier in Marvel films and rocker Tommy Lee in series “Pam and Tommy”.

Meanwhile, Demi Moore has emerged as a serious contender for the best actress award after rave reviews for her “fearless” performance in “The Substance”, an ultra-gory horror about the pressures women face to maintain bodily perfection as they age.

Moore underwent up to eight hours of makeup for the hideous deformities that appear on-screen as her character tries a mysterious substance in a bid to look better. “My little dog... always recognised me. That’s all that counted,” Moore joked to reporters, accompanied by her Chihuahua dog Pilaf.