Matt Damon moved to tears during five-minute standing ovation at Cannes ‘Stillwater’ premiere
Once the film ended, Matt received another standing ovation, the audience clapped for another five minutes for him and his co-stars.
Matt Damon was overcome with emotion upon his return to Cannes. On Thursday night, the 50-year-old actor swooped into the Cannes Film Festival with 'Stillwater', a Focus Features crime drama directed by Tom McCarthy of 'Spotlight'.
As the credits played, Damon began to cry as the audience erupted in applause. He plays a stoic Oklahoma construction worker whose daughter (Abigail Breslin) is imprisoned in France for murder after being found guilty of killing her ex-girlfriend while studying abroad.
Damon's character Bill Baker works relentlessly to prove his child's innocence, befriending a single mother (Camille Cottin) and her daughter (Lilou Siauvaud) along the way.
Once the film ended, he received another standing ovation, the audience clapped for another five minutes for Damon and his co-stars.
While filmmakers do not usually offer speeches after their Cannes premieres, McCarthy defied convention and took the microphone after 'Stillwater" concluded.
"I'm overwhelmed to be here, I've been so greatly influenced by the cinema of this country and of Europe," McCarthy said.
"It's so inspiring to present a film to this amazing audience in this iconic theater… that's all I can come up with in this instant-tradition moment," he added.
'Stillwater' opens in the US on July 30.