It was madness, complete madness.
In an instant, the press room turned into the height of summer—not just hot and stifling, but also with torrential rain, the buzzing of voices morphing into deafening roars that pounded the eardrums. The entire world seemed to spin out of control, as if everything was fast-forwarded at ten times the speed, turning the view into a blur.
People thought this year's Cannes Film Festival had already been wild enough, with films like The Elephant, Dogville, and The Brown Bunny stirring controversy throughout the ten-day event. There was never a dull moment. But who could have predicted that the biggest shock was still to come? The jury had been holding back, waiting for this moment.
No Dogville, no Mystic River—the two biggest, most anticipated films of the festival had both been eliminated!
Suddenly, things became unpredictable.
This! This was beyond thrilling!
So, who would win the Palme d'Or?
Karl Rivet could barely breathe: as long as it wasn't The Cotelette Family, he would be content. That was his one humble wish.
His mind was a tangled mess, overloaded with information. He didn't know how to react; his thoughts spiraled in all directions, unable to grasp any clarity. In the end, he clung to a single thread of hope, silently praying that Cannes wouldn't turn into a disaster this year.
"No, no, no, no, no."
A muttered prayer reached his ears. Karl looked over and saw Nicholas Flynn silently casting a spell—or so it seemed.
Wait, even The New York Times reporters do this?
Sensing Karl's gaze, Nicholas looked up to meet his eyes.
Karl was stunned. "Not The Cotelette Family?"
Nicholas nodded solemnly, "Not The Cotelette Family."
They exchanged a look and shared a knowing smile, refraining from further conversation as both turned their attention back to the TV screen.
The Cannes Film Festival doesn't broadcast the awards live. The ceremony is kept simple—just the awards, all over in thirty minutes, unlike the Oscars' four-hour extravaganza.
But in the press room, a TV screen was streaming the events from the Lumière Hall, allowing the media to follow the ceremony in real-time.
After a brief introduction, without small talk or formalities, jury president Patrice Chéreau announced the start of the closing ceremony and awards—
They dove straight into the awards, wasting no time.
The first award presented was the Jury Prize, which is essentially third place.
At Five in the Afternoon.
Huh.
A surprise right from the start, as many had predicted At Five in the Afternoon would win Best Actress or Best Screenplay. But it got third place?
Seriously? The official jury score was 2.5—how did this end up in third place?
Then again, Cannes had already been full of surprises, and the jury scores had lost their significance. No need to be shocked. If The Cotelette Family was sitting in the Lumière Hall, At Five in the Afternoon's Jury Prize was already worth applause.
Besides, with five films competing for seven awards, at least two of them were bound to take home two trophies. So, no need to overreact.
Nicholas was the first to clap for At Five in the Afternoon, and after a slight delay, Karl joined in.
This was good news. Great news!
But—
This year's Cannes was destined to be unusual. Even though everyone was mentally prepared for surprises, even though they expected the unexpected, the bombs kept dropping, each one more shocking than the last. It was more thrilling than a rollercoaster.
Best Screenplay: The Barbarian Invasions.
Best Actress: The Barbarian Invasions.
Best Actor: Far Away.
Wait, what? What just happened?
Surprise after surprise, to the point where people forgot to gasp.
No one expected The Barbarian Invasions to be the first film to win two awards—and not just a minor one, but Best Screenplay and Best Actress!
No one expected the Best Actor award to go to both lead actors from Far Away, beating Mystic River, The Elephant, and The Cotelette Family.
Suddenly, everything became even more complicated.
People had been predicting Far Away would win the Palme d'Or, but now that it had won Best Actor—especially a shared award—its chances of taking the top prize dropped significantly.
People had predicted The Elephant would win Best Actor and The Cotelette Family would take Best Screenplay, but those guesses were now completely overturned.
The European "Big Three" film festivals, with their small juries, are always unpredictable. The awards depend on the tastes of the jury and how well they argue behind closed doors—
Some jurors are great debaters and fiercely defend their preferences. If they love a film, it might just win.
Some jurors, on the other hand, are peace-lovers, with gentle personalities. They avoid conflict and let their voices be drowned out.
Sometimes, the jury president is a puppet, with no real control over the awards, like Isabelle Adjani. Other times, the president dominates the discussion, turning the jury into a one-man show, like Quentin Tarantino.
Anything is possible. The variables are endless.
Naturally, this makes it incredibly difficult for the media to predict the awards. Usually, once the closing ceremony starts and the jury summons the film crews, predictions become easier because—
Acting. Screenplay. Director.
These awards are relatively easier to predict. Once you know the winners in these categories, it's a little easier to guess the top three.
But!
This year, all four awards that had been announced so far were upsets. It was one shock after another, leaving the entire press room stunned.
At this point, the five film crews called back tonight included The Elephant and The Cotelette Family, neither of which had won anything yet. And there were still three awards left:
Best Director, the Grand Prix, and the Palme d'Or.
How would they be divided?
Considering The Barbarian Invasions had already taken two awards, and At Five in the Afternoon had won the Jury Prize, the best possible outcome seemed clear.
The Cotelette Family would win Best Director, and The Elephant or Far Away would take the Grand Prix and Palme d'Or. Or perhaps The Elephant would win the Grand Prix, and The Barbarian Invasions would take the Palme d'Or.
This was the only acceptable outcome in this chaotic situation.
If The Cotelette Family didn't win Best Director, it would mean the film would take either the Grand Prix or the Palme d'Or—
Was this some kind of Cannes horror story?
Come to think of it, Bertrand Blier had been in the industry for over forty-five years, and the last time he won an award at one of the European Big Three festivals was in 1989. If the Cannes jury awarded him Best Director in recognition of his contribution to French cinema, it wouldn't be so hard to accept.
Especially compared to The Cotelette Family winning the Palme d'Or.
So, Best Director would be the best outcome. Yes, that's it.
Given a choice between two evils, the lesser evil is clear. It wasn't easy, but they found a way to rationalize it.
For a moment, the entire press room went silent. Everyone held their breath, and even their hearts seemed to stop.