The 79th annual Cannes Film Festival rolled into its fourth day with its biggest slate of films yet, including the feature immediately anointed the best of the fest. While auteurs unveiled their latest, there was a major surprise for a first-time filmmaker. John Travolta, on hand for the world premiere of his directorial debut, was the recipient of a surprise Palme d’Or, providing an instantly viral moment. Read on for all the day’s highlights and our updated ovation scorecard.
“Beyond the Oscar”
Surprise! John Travolta, you’re getting a Palme d’Or. The actor received the unexpected honor after landing (he flew himself, natch) in Cannes on Friday for the premiere of his Propeller One-Way Night Coach. Festival director Thierry Frémaux presented Travolta with the prestigious award just before the screening of the Apple-backed feature. The movie stars his daughter, Ella Bleu Travolta, and is based on his 1997 children’s book of the same name.
Travolta was visibly moved while accepting the award. “You said this would be a special night, but I didn’t think you meant this,” he said. “This is a humbling moment. This is beyond the Oscar.”
The big Kid in town
John Travolta wasn’t the only one who needed a tissue at Cannes. Director Jordan Firstman brought his directorial debut, Club Kid, to the Un Certain Regard portion of the festival, and, according to the trades, the film received instant acclaim from critics and a seven-minute standing ovation. The comedy, which follows a New York City party promoter who turns his life around, stars Cara Delevingne and Diego Calva. Firstman is best known as a social media comedian but has also held roles in Hacks and I Love L.A.
“This is such a dream come true,” Firstman told the crowd at the Debussy Theatre before the screening. “This movie was such a labor of love. A lot of crying. A lot of laughter. A lot of joy. It’s a film about cultivating kindness in your community and for yourself.”
After the ovation, a teary-eyed went viral for kissing Calva.
Big directors, mixed reviews
A quick review recap of some notable films:
- Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s All of a Sudden became the front-runner for the Palme d’Or with the longest ovation so far (ranging from seven minutes, per Variety, to 11 minutes, per Deadline) and ravest reviews. Variety wrote that “the Japanese director’s gorgeous new feature, is the rarest type of film, not merely good enough to remind you what cinema can be, but great enough to remind you what life can be.”
- Asghar Farhadi’s Parallel Tales, starring Isabelle Huppert, Virginie Efira, and Vincent Cassel, was met with a muted reception. The Hollywood Reporter called the Oscar-winning Iranian director’s drama about voyeurism “elegant but frustrating,” noting that “the film keeps circling itself, with diminishing traction.”
- The Diego Luna-directed Ashes tackles the subject of immigration, following two siblings who travel from Mexico to Spain to reunite with their mother. It marks the fourth directorial effort from the Andor star, but the film received lukewarm notices. Variety described it as “middling, meandering,” saying it “offers worthwhile performances, but little else.”
The Standing-O scoreboard
| Film | Length of ovation* |
| All of a Sudden | 9 |
| Club Kid | 7 |
| Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma | 7 |
| Parallel Tales | 6 |
| Ashes | 5 |
| Fatherland | 5 |
*averaged from published reports
