Cannes Journal: Friday

Kit's film screened in competition Friday morning. The judges were introduced and the directors called up on stage. Then the lights went down and the Cannes logo appeared on the screen. I cried when I saw it. I couldn't believe we were there and I couldn't believe that Kit's film had been selected to compete. The first film, a French production called Kitchen, elicited laughs and boasted a beautiful final shot of the actress walking down a Parisian street at dusk. The credits rolled; Kit's film was next.

A telephone rang against the black screen as the opening titles appeared. Then the opening pan. I had never seen her film looking or sounding as good. It was beautiful. When the film was over, a man next to me whispered to his friend, "That was really good." I was crying. I cried through the entire closing credits. My body was shaking.

I recovered enough to watch the next film. My favorite film next to Kit's was a Ukrainian film shot in black and white. Called Podorozhni (Wayfarers), it was directed by Igor Strembitskyy and featured vignettes of people accompanied by a poetic voice over narration.

The most amazing film technically was a Hungarian film done in one 360° shot, Before Dawn, by Balint Kenyeres. But while it was beautiful and technically astounding, the film felt hollow, lacking emotion or context in which to place the events.

After the screening I met up with Cherry and Kit in the lobby of the theater. The films were all fantastic and idosyncratic, exhibiting the style of the director. Cherry was thrilled. She whispered to me, "I think Kit might win. I don't want to say it, but I said it!" I laughed and agreed; I said I thought there were three possibilities. We all loved the Ukranian film. Kit thought Before Dawn had a shot. I didn't. I thought another French film had an outside chance. Eric, Sonia, and Renee were nearby chatting with other people.

We all went to a nearby cafe for lunch, along with Helena Brooks the New Zealand director of Nothing Special and some of her friends. The sun shone brightly. I fielded a call for Eric from Ramsey. He said that people from Lincoln Center were interested in interviewing Kit at four. At three, Kit, Cherry, and I returned to the Palais des Festivals for the second screening of the shorts program to watch her film again. Afterwards, I walked with them to the hotel in which they were to meet with Lincoln Center and I returned to the office to pick up tickets to various parties and screenings.

That night, Kit, Cherry, John, and I walked the red carpet for the premiere of Hou Hsiao-Hsien's Three Times. The movie is beautiful; the first shot is mesmerizing. Broken into three parts, he explores three emotional times in life set in three different time periods using the same two actors. The middle section was utterly surprising. After the screening the audience rose to applaud the director and his actors. Both Shu Qi and Chang Chen were in attendance.

Afterwards, we went to dinner. We all wanted Chinese food after watching the film and found a lonely restaurant on an otherwise darkened street. We ordered and when the food came, everything was bathed in a brown sauce. The food was lackuster, but it didn't matter. We had just come from a beautiful film and were eating and drinking at Cannes. And the next day, the awards would be announced. Posted by eku at June 1, 2005 11:50 PM