Andy Garcia's film Diamond received a nine-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday evening, with Garcia appearing on stage alongside co-stars Vicky Krieps and Rosemarie DeWitt.
According to Deadline, the film is described as a love letter to Los Angeles and a tribute to classic film noir. Garcia wrote and directed the project and also stars as Joe Diamond, a private detective described as an out-of-time figure with a gift for solving cases that have stumped the LAPD. The film is a quirky whodunnit with noir roots.
The project took 20 years to reach the screen. Garcia first had the idea while helping his daughter Daniella with a homework assignment that involved writing a short story in the style of The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler. That small moment eventually grew into a feature film that premiered at one of the world's most prestigious film festivals.
Garcia addressed the audience in the Grand Salle Lumière during the premiere. "As you might know this has been a 20-year journey and I couldn't think of a more sacred place than to be here, a place where film noir was coined, and to share this very personal journey here with the Festival de Cannes," he told the crowd. He also spoke directly to young artists in the audience. "We all grew up with a dream and I can tell you and share with young people out there who have dreams that there is no great obstacle that can't be overcome. Follow your dream. Keep falling forward. As my father would say never take a step backward, not even to gain momentum. I am blessed to be here with you all this evening. Thank you."
The film features a wide-ranging cast that includes Brendan Fraser, Bill Murray, Dustin Hoffman, Demián Bichir, Danny Huston, Yul Vazquez, Robert Patrick and Rachel Ticotin, though most did not travel to Cannes for the premiere. Garcia thanked them in their absence from the stage.
Diamond is Garcia's third feature as a director, following the 1993 documentary Cachao… Como Su Ritmo No Hay Dos and the 2005 film The Lost City. His last appearance at Cannes before this year was with Ocean's Thirteen in 2007. Before that, his film Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead played in the Un Certain Regard section in 1995.
The film is playing in Cannes' Out of Competition strand this year, alongside films including Quentin Dupieux's Full Phil and Nicolas Winding Refn's Her Private Hell.
