Cannes Journal: Saturday

Saturday started slowly. The festival was winding down and no one wanted to work. Stevie called and told Kit that he was interviewing Hou Hsiao-Hsien that afternoon if she wanted to be part of his crew. She quickly got ready and left. John, Cherry, and I ate lunch in a nearby cafe before leaving to get ready for the rest of the day. The awards ceremony was that evening and we were to bring Kit her evening clothes at four.

After lunch we changed and went to camp out at the Hotel Carlton. Kit arrived in her jeans and then disappeared with Cherry to change. John and I had drinks and waited. I gave him Eric's information so they could coordinate where they would meet up. An hour later Kit and Cherry reappeared. We finished our drinks and left John at the table. Eric was on his way.

The directors were lead away. They were to drive around the block so they could arrive in automobiles to walk the red carpet. Elise walked us to the red carpet and we entered the Theatre Lumiere. We found our seats at the foot of the stage and watched the procession on screen. The room filled slowly. Elise came by to chat, and I thanked her for everything she had done. When Kit arrived, I quickly took photos of the screen. Another actress arrived at the same time, and the editor kept cutting to her. I muttered to Cherry that we had seen enough of her; I wanted to see Kit.

Soon Kit was sitting beside us. She jokingly said that when they arrived on the carpet, the photographers declined to take photos, even after they were announced. Pascal, the director of Baby Shark, looked at the seating arrangements and predicted that Kitchen would win since Alice was sitting closest to the stage and the show had to run within its alloted 45 minutes for French TV. He was having a blast.

The ceremony began promptly and suddenly they were announcing the short film competition. There was to be a special mention and then the Palme d'Or. The special mention went to Clara, an animated short, and the Palme d'Or to . . . Igor for Podorozhni. Kit, Cherry, and I erupted into applause and stood. Igor raised his arms triumphant. His wife looked on, wearing the dress she had worn to their wedding. It was over in minutes.

Later, Kit said that she was happy he won. He was deserving and it would no doubt help him greatly. I said that I was surprised how happy I was even though she hadn't won. After seeing all the films and directors in competition, it was amazing just being selected to attend. And of all the short films, Igor's was the only film that could have won over Kit's that would have made me as happy as I was.

The ceremony continued, with celebrity presenters and guests. When Jim Jarmusch won, he gave a particularly inspiring speech. He said he didn't believe in competitions in artistic endeavors. He spoke of how honored he was just to be selected and to be in the company of the other directors. He named them all, and after speaking Hou Hsiao-Hsien's name, he included, "of whom I'm a student." He spoke of all the directors selected to be at Cannes as belonging to one tribe, and he spoke of how proud he was to be counted among them. And he thanked everyone and he left.

After the ceremony we milled about the lobby of the theater, congratulating people. We walked back to the Carlton to join John, Eric, Sonia, and Renee. We toasted with champagne and talked about film and the ceremony. They had seen the ceremony on the tv in the hotel lobby. Everyone was dressed to the nines.

At ten we walked Kit and Cherry to the dinner celebrating the directors in competition. Tickets were scarce. We ate dinner across the street, along the Croisette. At midnight, the sky erupted in a 45 minute fireworks display. Kit called John to ask him if he was watching. He said she knew he loved fireworks. We walked to the edge of the water and watched as they lit the sea beneath them and faces of people lining the beaches.

Around one, Kit and Cherry arrived. Eric had walked Sonia back home, but then rejoined our party. We had two invites to another party, and Cherry decided to go with Eric. I went back to the hotel with Kit and John. We were exhausted, and I had to finish packing for my 7 am flight. I said goodnight to Kit and we made vague plans to meet again in Paris or New York in July.

Cherry got back around three. We chatted briefly and I called a cab. We said goodnight and goodbye, to meet back in New York a week later.

I arrived home around noon on Sunday. While checking email, Kit im'd me. She was back in London. "You'll never guess who I met at the airport." I made a wild guess and then i guessed Hou Hsiao-Hsien. Yes! she wrote. When she and John had arrived at the airport, she thought he heard his voice. John encouraged her to go out and check. He was smoking a cigarette with his assistant and Kit went to join them. She congratulated him on his film and mentioned she was in competition in the short film category but had lossed. He laughed and supposed he had lost as well. They talked briefly and then it was time to go. I couldn't believe it as I read the words of her im.

I thought back over the last week, drinking wine and coffee with her and Cherry, attending the parties, running from hotel to hotel for meetings, meeting filmmakers, seeing her film in competition at the festival, walking the red carpet, fixing breakfast at the hotel after too little sleep and then stepping out on the balcony to see the Mediterranean bathed in the morning light, attending the premiere of Hou Hsiao-Hsien's new film at the Theatre Lumiere. It had all become scenes in what appeared to be one long dream, and I felt my skin prickle as I thought of what Kit had done and at the potential of what was to come, and my eyes began to burn as tears once again welled up in them. Posted by eku at June 2, 2005 3:05 PM