CANNES, France — Greta Gerwig clearly had no idea what to do with herself — and honestly, who among us would? — when she got a 4½-minute serenade in front of 2,300 people on her inaugural night as the 77th jury president of the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday night.
“Dear Greta, you are a gift for the festival, so the festival has a gift for you,” said host Camille Cottin (“Call My Agent!”), turning to Gerwig and speaking English for the first time, 30 minutes into the show. A clip rolled of Gerwig dancing down the streets of New York to David Bowie’s “Modern Love” in 2012’s “Francis Ha,” and then the camera cut to singer Zaho de Sagazan — who just won France’s equivalent of album of the year — prancing down the aisle. Gerwig grinned ear to ear, sang along, clutched her hand to her heart and teared up every few seconds, until de Sagazan eventually held Gerwig’s hand and serenaded her directly.