“Titane” director Julia Ducournau made a triumphant return to Cannes Monday evening with her new feature “Alpha.” The mother-daughter infection thriller earned an enthusiastic 11.5-minute ovation after its premiere — one of the most glowing in-person receptions thus far at this year’s film festival. As the applause raged on, Ducournau grew visibly emotional, wiping tears away and making a heart with her hands as a sign of gratitude.
But the premiere of “Alpha” faced a brief interruption when, about an hour into the film’s runtime, attendees in the balcony began waving their phone flashlights. Some audience members shouted for a doctor in French, asking for the screening to be halted. Paramedics eventually arrived and, shortly after, one audience member was carried out on a stretcher. The screening of “Alpha” continued without pausing as the incident unfolded.
It remains unclear what the cause of the medical emergency was. The incident did not appear to be related to the content of Ducournau’s film, which had not yet depicted any particularly shocking material by that part in its storyline. Variety has reached out to the festival press office for more information.
“Alpha” stars Cannes regulars Golshifteh Farahani and Tahar Rahim opposite “Sex Education” favorite Emma Mackey and Finnegan Oldfield. The plot centers on the title character, a troubled 13-year-old living with her single mother. Per the Cannes synopsis: “Their world collapses the day she returns from school with a tattoo on her arm.”
The film seems to be intended as an AIDS allegory, depicting a virus spread by sharing needles and bodily fluids. Though a body horror touch is added with the skin of those infected turning to marble, the film is mainly a surreal drama. As the girl’s mother begins to fear her daughter is infected, memories of her late brother, an addict who died of the disease, make her increasingly paranoid.
Ducournau is already a Cannes history-maker thanks to her last directorial effort, “Titane.” The body horror psychological drama was one of the most provocative titles at the 2021 festival and was awarded the Palme d’Or by the Spike Lee-led jury. Ducournau became only the second female director to win Cannes’ top prize. “Alpha” marks the director’s third feature. Her debut, the 2016 cannibal adolescence thriller “Raw,” premiered at Cannes in the Critics’ Week sidebar.
When Ducournau accepted the Palme d’Or in 2021, she recalled her joy watching the Cannes awards each year as a child : “At that time, I was sure that all the films awarded must have been perfect because they were on the stage. And tonight, I’m on that same stage, but I know my film is not perfect — but I think no film is perfect in the eyes of the person who made it. You could even say mine is monstrous.”
“Alpha” marks Ducournau’s second Cannes competition title. Neon, which distributed “Titane,” has teamed up with the filmmaker once again for the “Alpha” release.
