A Standing Ovation for Emilia Pérez at Cannes: A Musical Crime Comedy that Moves the Audience.

The musical crime comedy Emilia Pérez, directed by Jacques Audiard, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to a standing ovation that lasted more than 11 minutes. The film stars Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña, and Édgar Ramirez who were all present at the premiere. This marked the first big premiere of Cannes’ first weekend, following other big Hollywood movies like Megalopolis and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.

As the credits rolled on the film, the audience at the Palais responded with applause. Director Jacques Audiard took the microphone to thank the audience, which was followed by two more minutes of applause. Saldaña, Gascón, and Gomez were visibly emotional and moved by the response. Audiard, a Cannes veteran known for films like Rust & Bone, tells the story of Rita, a lawyer at a large firm who is hired by a cartel leader named Manitas to help him transition out of his criminal lifestyle and realize his dream of becoming a woman.

The screenplay was written by Audiard in collaboration with Thomas Bidegain and Léa Mysius. This film marks Audiard’s return to Cannes competition after his previous film, Paris