On Saturday, Selena Gomez learned she had won the Best Actress Award at Cannes Film Festival, along with all of the women from her new movie Emilia Pérez, directed by Jacques Audiard. She starred in the film with Zoe Saldana, Karla Sofia Gascón, and Adriana Paz. Gomez shared a clip of herself on Instagram Stories receiving the news from Saldana, exclaiming, “I’m so excited!”
The star had already returned home from France after spending last weekend in Cannes, and took the phone call in Central Park in New York City while on a picnic with friends.
“Thank you SO much [Cannes Film Festival] and the whole board,” Gomez wrote in her Stories. She also shared a clip of Greta Gerwig giving a speech about the decision.
“It was such a film that felt like it belonged to … this interplay between these sisters—who are so different, but they are playing with each other the whole time,” Gerwig said. “It almost felt like everyone was shining and they were all a unit. To separate them felt like it undermined the magic of what they created together.”
Gerwig added, “I think that each of them is a standout, but together they’re transcendent.”
Actress Lily Gladstone also served as a jury member and added during the closing ceremony, “We decided that how can you award a harmony by singling out individual notes? They’re stronger when they resound together, so we decided this year to award Best Actresses.”
In an interview with the AP, Gomez talked about acting again and especially in Spanish.
“I’m going to diminish myself a little bit here. This has nothing to do with the film, I am honored to be a part of it. I’m not as happy with what I feel like I could’ve done in Spanish,” she said. “But overall, I hope that it doesn’t hinder my performance and I’m really grateful for the opportunity. Perhaps I could’ve had more time with it, but I was full-throttle and I wanted to be a part of this so badly. It was a challenge for me, for sure.