I’ve been back to Cannes something like 15 times. I was there with Valérie Donzelli’s film [Marguerite & Julien in 2015] in Competition and with the closing film [2012’s Thérèse] from Claude Miller. I’ve had films in Critics’ Week and Un Certain Regard. I was President of the Jury that awarded the Camera d’Or [to Vietnamese director Pham Thien An for Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell] in 2023.
But the one that stands out is from my very first time. I was 15, and I was in Cannes with a Michael Haneke film [2003’s Time of the Wolf]. I was so young, so light-hearted. I didn’t really understand the craft of an actor, or the stress and joy of attending the Cannes Film Festival. I still remember people telling me: “You don’t know if you’ll ever make another film, this could be the end of your career. So enjoy it while it lasts.”
I remember the red carpet. I was so young. I didn’t expect the photographers to yell so loudly. When Isabelle Huppert, who was the star of the film, walked up, it was just: “Isabelle! Isabelle! Isabelle!!!”
Then the screening itself, in the Grand Theatre. In that legendary movie theatre with that big screen. The screening felt almost like a religious ceremony. But, because it was a Haneke film, it was also controversial. During the screening, people were whistling and shouting at the screen. Others were clapping. It was incredible. I’d never experienced a screening like that before or after.
Looking back, and returning again to open the festival, I consider myself very lucky to still be in the business 20 years later. And to still be coming to Cannes. Because we aren’t in competition [with The Electric Kiss] there’s no extra stress and no extra pressure. Just extra pleasure.