‘Emilia Pérez’ Starring Zoe Salda?a And Selena Gomez Scores 11-Minute Ovation At Cannes World Premiere

Nancy Tartaglione and Anna Smith
·2 min read

Jacques Audiard’s latest movie, the Spanish-language musical crime comedy Emilia Pérez, had its competition world premiere Saturday in Cannes, where it received a an ovation that lasted more than 11 minutes.

Stars Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, Zoe Salda?a and édgar Ramirez were all in attendance for the first big premiere of Cannes’ first weekend, after a festival that has already seen the likes of Megalopolis and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga among the big Hollywood movies playing here.

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The ovation came as the credits rolled on the pic. At some point Audiard took the microphone to thank the audience at the Palais. After he finished, the applause resumed for two-minutes-plus more, with Salda?a, Gascón and Gomez coming to tears.

Cannes veteran and Rust & Bone filmmaker Audiard is back in competition following 2021’s Paris, 13th District. Here, he tells the story of Rita (Salda?a), an overqualified and undervalued lawyer at a large firm that is more interested in getting criminals off the hook than bringing them to justice.

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One day, she is given an unexpected way out, when cartel leader Manitas (Gascón) hires her to help him withdraw from his business and realize a plan he has been secretly preparing for years: to become the woman he has always dreamt of being.

Audiard wrote the screenplay with frequent collaborator Thomas Bidegain and Léa Mysius. Pathé will release in France on August 28. The Veterans is on international sales.

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