Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, and Adriana Paz headed to London this weekend to celebrate the premiere of musical crime drama Emilia Pérez at the London Film Festival. In between festival activities, the luminous quartet of actors who brought Jacques Audiard’s vision to the screen gathered to receive their Cannes Best Actress award statues in person for the first time after being honored with the prestigious award at the film festival in May. Joining the actors was Greta Gerwig, president of the 2024 Cannes jury, to commemorate the achievement, a historical first as the award, which is traditionally given to a single performer, has never been given to an ensemble of women
Gerwig said when presenting the award to Gascón (who represented the group at the ceremony in May), “Women together — that’s something we wanted to honor when we made this award. Each of them is a standout, but together they are transcendent.”
Through words and music and dance, the film tells the story of Emilia Pérez (Gascón), a Mexican cartel leader who is ready to leave behind her violent past. She enlists lawyer Rita (Saldaña) to help her fake her death and live her authentic life, eventually reconnecting with Jessi (Gomez), her partner, and meeting Epifanía (Paz), who enriches Emilia’s life.
Director and writer Audiard reflected on the honor given to the actors that make his film soar “I think that is one of the awards that has touched me the most in my entire career,” the Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-winning director Audiard said. “Together, they give a marvelous, astonishing, and surprising performance. Thanks to them, Emilia Pérez doesn’t just tell the story of one woman. It’s about four very different women, all of whom will be remembered.”
After subsequent premieres at Toronto International Film Festival, as well as Telluride Film Festival and New York Film Festival, the electric Emilia Pérez has been announced as France’s official selection for best international feature at the 97th Academy Awards. The film comes to Netflix in the US, UK, and Canada on Nov. 13.
