CANNES: Pedro Pascal, star of indie director Ari Aster`s new pandemic-era neo-Western Eddington, said on Saturday that storytelling and self-expression were the perfect way to fight back against political chaos in the United States.

`Fear is the way that they win, for one. And so keep telling stories and keep expressingyourselfand keep fighting to be who you are,` the Chilean-born actor told journalists at the Cannes Film Festival the day after the film`s premiere.

Eddington stars Pascal as a small-town mayor campaigning against a down-on-his-luck sheriff played by Joaquin Phoenix in a New Mexico town where tensions are simmering over Covid mask policies and the Black Lives Matter protests.

Austin Butler, the star of Dune:Part Two, and Emma Stone of La La Land also star in the film set to hit US theatres on July 18.

Pascal, known for his role in dystopian video-game adaptation The Last of Us, added that it was `far too intimidating` for him to address a question about US President Donald Trump`s immigration policy.

`I`m not informed enough,` Pascal said. `I want people to be safe and to be protected.

Trump has launched a crackdown on illegal immigration and has also detained and moved to deport some legal permanent US residents. His policies have triggered a rash of lawsuits and protests.

Aster, who made his name with elevated horror films Hereditary and Midsommar, said he wanted to capture how the US felt during the pandemic, and now, with his latest film.

`It feels bad and I`m very worried,` said the US director.

`We`re on a dangerous road and I feel like we`re living through an experiment that is going, it`s gone wrong.`-Reuters