Odessa Azion and Connor Swindells honored by Chopard at Cannes: “Strange, crazy and truly surreal”

The Cannes Film Festival itineraries of leaders Thierry Frémaux and Iris Knobloch are eventful, so when they stand in the spotlight together, and the former says “This is one of the best evenings of the festival,” it’s probably going to be a good night.

The two joined Chopard’s Caroline Scheufele in Carlton Beach on Friday night for the Chopard Fine Jewelery Cup Gala to celebrate two actors hand-picked as “next generation” talent, with a godmother in charge of presenting the awards. This year, that honor went to French cinema icon Isabelle Huppert, who took her time handing out awards to Odessa Azion and Connor Swindells.

Before reading her speech, the actress was in Cannes to attend the world premiere of Asghar Farhadi’s film Parallel storiesShe said she took the party “seriously” and it showed. “The Chopard Prize not only rewards talent, it recognizes a movement, a promise, something that already exists but is still transforming,” she said. “Maybe that’s what it means to be an actor, to always be one. There are a lot of actors in this room, and I’m sure they would agree with that.”

There were many actors and industry insiders in the room, including judges Chloe Zhao, Demi Moore, Stellan Skarsgard, and Ruth Negga as well as guests like James Franco, Andie MacDowell, Dylan Sprouse (with his pregnant wife Barbara Palvin), Riley Keough, Nicky Hilton, Xavier Dolan and others.

“It was a place of memory, but also a place of rebirth,” Hubert continued, presenting the awards, an honor created by Scheufele in 2001, and previously given to Marion Cotillard, Léa Seydoux, Diane Kruger, Florence Pugh, Jessie Buckley, Adele Exarchopoulos, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Mike Feist, Joe Alwyn, Gael García Bernal, others. “Every year, new faces emerge. They come to enrich a story that constantly reveals itself, and perhaps in the end, that is the true beauty of cinema. It never really ends. It passes from one generation to the next without ever repeating itself. Tonight, we celebrate this continuity and celebrate two unique existences, two sensations, two paths that are just beginning to be written and that we really want to follow.”

Hubert then said she didn’t want A’zion or Swindells to succeed as they moved forward in their careers. “Success is uncertain, fickle, and sometimes deceptive. I wish you something else – I wish you freedom. Freedom to choose. Freedom to say no. Freedom to explore unexpected territories. Freedom to be yourself. Freedom to dream. And above all, freedom to remain true to that mystery that brought you here, because that mystery is what makes great actors.”

Upon her acceptance, Azion described her time in Cannes as “really weird and crazy and surreal.” “I’ve never been here before and I never in a million years thought this would happen when I first got here. I don’t know why you guys chose me, but I’m so grateful because this is so cool,” she said, joking that watching her highlights was a “terrifying” experience. “There are so many actors that I admire that are part of this series of this award, and it’s so crazy. This is really cool. Yeah, thank you guys.”

A’zion arrives at Cannes after a busy year thanks to her work in Josh Safdie’s film Marty Supreme Opposite Timothée Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow and Tyler the Creator. She is also a series regular on Rachel Sennott’s series I love Los Angeles. Upcoming projects include Cody Fern Mother CourageOpposite Naomi Watts, Sarah Paulson and Justin Tritt Funda. Includes previous credits Sitting in bars with cakes, fresh kills, swimming pools, a large army, and Hellraiser and She’s riding shotgun.

Meanwhile, British actor Swindells had a prominent role as Adam Groff in the global Netflix phenomenon Sex education. He moves seamlessly between television, film, period drama, contemporary cinema and large-scale productions. His credits include emma disappearance, Steven Knight Rogue SAS heroes, William Tell And smashing Greta Gerwig with a billion dollars Barbie. He next appears in Ruben Östlund’s anticipated film The entertainment system is down And Kylie Llewellyn dreamland.

Unlike A’zion, Swindells joked that he “enjoyed looking at myself out there” on the big screen to see his career in highlights. He ended his speech with a touching nod to his late mother, who died of cancer when he was a child. “My mother’s name is Phoebe. She passed away when I was very young and unfortunately, she didn’t get to see any of this, but this certainly wouldn’t have been possible without her. She was an amazing soul who has been with me all this time. So please, a round of applause for my mother.”