CANNES, France — During the film festival, even a leisurely lunch needs to move with the pace of the screening schedule.
Jury members Ruth Negga, Stellan Skarsgård and Demi Moore squeezed in a few bites of veggies and seafood that just kept coming during Ami Paris’ Critics Week luncheon.
Negga and Skarsgård lingered over the long tables, but both had to leave early to catch the next film.
“I’m sad that I will be missing the main course,” Skarsgård joked, while Negga admitted the jury’s schedule of screenings and events had been relentless. She attended the Dior dinner late into the night before heading straight into daytime commitments. “I didn’t get much sleep,” she said.
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Moore arrived for more of a drive-by, swinging in to chat with Ami founder Alexandre Mattiussi and other guests in a white skirt suit and matching sunglasses.
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Still, she recalled her first Cannes memory — a far cry from serving on the jury this year.
“I came as a plus-one for the opening night of the festival for the film ‘The Fifth Element,’ and it was extremely grand and super exciting,” she said of the 1997 event.
Moore was accompanied to the lunch by her stylist, Brad Goreski.
“Well, I’m a huge fan of Ami, as is Demi. We wanted something that looked very South of France, very easy breezy to wear,” he said of the all-white look.
How did they pack for a full two weeks of day and night outfits? “Very carefully,” he joked.
After last year’s inaugural event, this year’s was significantly bigger as the brand increases its role in the festival, taking over the courtyard of Fred L’Ecailler on the quieter edge of Cannes, where families played pétanque in the neighboring park. Despite being far from the action, supporters of one luncheon guest, the Thai actor Keng Harit, still found their way to the restaurant, and hung out near the entrance holding banners, adding just enough fan frenzy.
“We’re making our mark,” Mattiussi said. “It’s fantastic. I’m happy, first of all, to be the sponsor of such an amazing event,” he said of the brand’s partnership with the sidebar, which focuses on first- and second-time filmmakers. The section “puts the light on the people who need it,” he added.
While competition at Cannes can be intense, Mattiussi emphasized the atmosphere of the gathering was familial and centered on a love of film. “It is a beautiful human interaction. The people here are lovely. It’s another temporality,” he said. “This is where things happen,” he added, citing Canadian actor Théodore Pellerin as an example. Pellerin won the section’s rising star award last year for “Nino,” before later taking home the same acting category at the César Awards. “And now he is cast in the next movie of Tom Ford playing with amazing people — like Colin Firth and Adele,” Mattiussi said of his tablemate.
“We wanted to create this moment for people to meet the members of the jury, the films in competition, actors, actresses, directors, in a beautiful space that is a little bit outside Cannes. It’s like a dream to be here, to be able to support films in this way,” he said.
Still, the designer’s schedule remains relentless. “And next step, the next [fashion] show in one month. I took these six days off, but I am going back tonight to Paris. And back to work tomorrow,” Mattiussi said.
Alexander Ludwig was taking a break from filming the next season of “White Lotus.”
“I love the brand, but I will tell you, the reason I am such a huge fan of this brand is sitting right beside me — my wife,” he said, pointing to wife Lauren. “She is obsessed with Ami, and she is way more stylish than I am, so she’s gotten me into it. And I love the brand, I truly do.”
Still, he hasn’t yet made it to Paris for a runway show.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been to a fashion show, but I went to a few in Milan back in ‘The Hunger Games’ days,” Ludwig added.
“I gotta tell you, I really love it, because I love people who are passionate about what they do. And when you’re surrounded by this kind of energy — this is about to be the corniest thing I’ve ever said — but in a weird way, fashion is a way to wear who you are on the outside. It takes a confident person to take these risks and unapologetically display who they are, and that I can really appreciate,” he said. “And in its own way, like a great film or a great piece of television, it is one’s expression to the world of what they’re trying to say.”
He’s having a blast filming “White Lotus.”
“We’ll be in Saint-Tropez for about 10 more days, then we’re going to move to Cannes, then Paris, and then back to the South of France,” he said of the shooting schedule. “Truly, I will tell you this — I’ve read all eight episodes, and it is going to be a phenomenal season.
“It’s the dream of dream jobs for so many reasons. I’m such a fan of [showrunner] Mike White and his writing — I’m pinching myself every single day,” Ludwig said. “The only thing better than having a film at Cannes is shooting ‘White Lotus’ in Cannes.”