Jane Schoenbrun’s Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma came alive at the Cannes Film Festival Wednesday night with a world premiere at Debussy Theatre to kick off the Un Certain Regard lineup.
And the Cannes crowd greeted Schoenbrun’s bloody effort with a warm reception and standing ovation that clocked in at just under six minutes after the credits rolled, as well as a four-minute speech from the filmmaker. At one point, Schoenbrun mimicked smoking a joint and hugged their stars. Later, they started clapping to gin up the standing ovation to go on for longer.
Schoenbrun then offered additional remarks at the end of the ovation — Einbinder said loudly, “What now?” — and thanked the entire team: “Thank you for bringing your open hearts.”
In a moment that prompted cheers and laughter from attendees before the screening, Schoenbrun began their onstage speech with: “There’s this song by Drake called, ‘Started from the Bottom.’ It goes, ‘Started from the bottom, now we’re here!” They added: “It’s unbelievable, I can’t believe we’re standing up here in a room full of people who are here to watch our movie. So many people worked so hard and with so much love [on it].”
Anderson, star of The X-Files and Sex Education, also got in a small joke: “This is my first time in Cannes with a film, after a few 100 years of being in the industry, and I’m so honored to be here with this particular film.” She continued: “I’m so proud of it, and I’m proud of what [Schoenbrun has] created with all of the extraordinary team. And yeah, it’s an incredibly special moment, so thank you for inviting me to the party.”
