Selena Gomez’s ‘Emilia Pérez’ earns this year’s Cannes’ longest standing ovation at 9 minutes

Selena Gomez is not just making headlines about her Cannes looks but also with her latest musical drama, “Emilia Pérez”. The Spanish film from Palme d’Or winner Jacques Audiard received a 9 minute standing ovation at this year’s 77th edition, which is the longest so far.

Gomez, touched deeply, brushed away tears while the Palais erupted into applause for an unprecedented nine minutes, punctuated by enthusiastic hoots, whistles, and cheers. Amidst the standing ovation, director Jacques Audiard acknowledged the balcony with a wave of his hat, while stars Saldaña and Édgar Ramírez exchanged a heartfelt embrace. Gascón, portraying a drug cartel leader in the film who undergoes gender-affirming surgery, received thunderous applause from the audience.

The film set in contemporary Mexico, follows Rita (Zoe Saldaña), a lawyer, who finds herself faced with a surprising proposition. She's tasked with aiding a notorious cartel leader (Karla Sofía Gascón) in his retirement and vanishing act by transforming into the woman he's long envisioned himself as. Gomez plays the role of the cartel leader’s unsuspecting wife.

This isn’t the director’s first rodeo. Audiard has been a regular at the Cannes. His first film, “Watch The Men Fall” (1994), was selected for the Critic’ Week at Cannes and then went on to win three Cesar awards which includes best first work. Audiard is also a Palm d’Or winner for his 2015 feature, “Deephan”.