True Whitaker is attending the festival to support her friend and first-time feature filmmaker Jordan Firstman for his film Club Kid. After seeing the movie at a screening pre-Cannes, she called Firstman in the hallway, overcome with emotion. “He really brings it,” she said. “It’s an incredible achievement.”
Gillian Anderson, whose film Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma opens the Un Certain Regard section, came swirling into the luncheon between various press obligations. In the film, she plays the reclusive star of a fictional series of slasher movies from the late ’80s called Camp Miasma. It’s a bold performance and sure to keep festivalgoers talking. “I’m dating a French guy, so I’m required to be here,” Mary Beth Barone joked with me. She’s currently on a break from filming the second season of Amazon’s hit comedy Overcompensating.
Jay Lycrurgo and Rhea Norwood
Once guests were seated, Tom Rowntree, vice president of global luxury brands at IHG Hotels & Resorts, gave brief remarks. “This is probably as close to an acceptance speech I’ll ever get,” he said. “This is the 79th Cannes Film Festival. The very first Cannes Film Festival took place inside the hotel. Seventy-nine years later, we are continuing to host.” Olivier Bouchara, head of editorial content for Vanity Fair France and cohost of the luncheon, also welcomed guests. “I think we can all agree that this type of event is already the start of a very solid festival,” he said. “The Carlton Cannes, a Regent Hotel, is not only a palace in Cannes. It’s also part of the festival. It’s a place where creators, writers, directors can connect and can share conversations that will go beyond the Croisette.”
