Inma Serrano Esparza

Alejandro G. Iñárritu visited the Cannes Film Festival for the first time in 2000 for the premiere of his film, "Amores Perros" (2000). One day during the festival, Iñárritu and many other directors were invited for a 7 PM screening of Wong Kar-wai's "In the Mood for Love" (2000). Iñárritu and his wife Maria booked a taxi at 6:15 PM. But the taxis were overbooked. So Iñárritu, wearing a tuxedo & his wife, wearing a long dress with high heels had no other choice but to run to reach the theater on time, while the temperature was 95°F. The traffic was heavy. While running, Iñárritu took off his jacket, tie & the first 3 buttons of his shirt. His wife took off her shoes. Their effort wasn't in vain as they reached the theater at 7:01 PM. They were drenched in sweat. But they both had experience of their lives when they watched the movie. Here is what Iñárritu said of "In the Mood for Love" (2000): "For a filmmaker, the experience of entering that legendary [Palais Des Festivals] with 2,000 seats is similar to that of a Catholic boy going into the Vatican. [From] all the way in the back, we watched “In the Mood for Love” on a screen 40 times bigger than us. Maria and I walked in complete silence for almost 10 minutes [afterward]. We suddenly stopped by the sea. Maria hugged me and started crying inconsolably on my shoulder. And I did the same on hers. “In the Mood for Love” had left us speechless and deeply moved. It was that moment that reminded me why, even when it’s so stupidly difficult sometimes, I wanted to become a filmmaker." ("We Miss You, Cannes: 23 Filmmakers Relive Indelible Moments", Manohla Dargis and A.O. Scott, The NY Times, 2020) P.S: On this day, 26 years ago, "In the Mood for Love" (2000) premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, France.