Andrew Garfield graced the San Sebastian red carpet on Saturday night with his latest film, We live in timeclosed the film festival on the Spanish coast.
The British actor was not joined by his co-star Florence Pugh, but had director John Crowley by his side. We live in timeScreening out of competition, it's a romantic drama set in South London about an up-and-coming chef and a recent divorcee who fall in love. As they meander through life – and even welcome a baby – they learn to cherish their time together when a late-stage cancer diagnosis upends the happy home they've built.
Garfield sat with The Hollywood journalist Saturday to lift the lid on his return to film after a two-year sabbatical. “I feel looser, I feel less precious. I feel happier. I feel more aware. I feel sufficiently established as a person in the world, as an actor within myself and in the world,” he said. “Now I know myself well enough to have more fun.”
The 41-year-old also spoke about bonding with co-star Pugh We live in time and the intimacy needed to act side by side: “With a script like this, we have to travel to the most intimate places,” he said. “At one point, I have to hold my head next to her butt while she's on all fours at a gas station, naked. That's scary for anyone, let alone the woman in that scenario.
San Sebastian had its most lavish party in years with Cate Blanchett, Javier Bardem and Johnny Depp all sitting on the carpet outside the Kursaal Theatre. Screenings by Edward Berger ConclaveFrancis Ford Coppola Megalopolis and that of Sean Baker Anora it also attracted the biggest stars in the industry to Spain.
During some of the festival's panels, Christine Vachon of Killer Films, a longtime collaborator of Todd Haynes who was supposed to produce the director's project with Joaquin Phoenix before the actor walked out at the start of filming, told “the truth” about the situation and described what he believes is the most tragic part.
“The idea that his time was wasted and that a film is not the result of those years of working closely with Joaquin, that's the tragedy for me and I can't get over it,” Vachon said Tuesday. “We, as a cultural community, missed the opportunity to have another Todd Haynes film. This is simply criminal.”
Depp's premiere of his new film Modi – Three days on the wing of madnessAfter a few days in the life of Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani, the star compared his eventful life to that of Modigliani and referred to his public defamation trial after his split from Amber Heard. “Everything is fine [character] has their own story because I'm sure we can say I've experienced a lot of things here and there. … Maybe yours hasn't become a soap opera. I mean, literally, televised,” he said, eliciting laughter from the room packed with reporters.”
Earlier in the week, Bardem took the opportunity in his press conference, before accepting the Donostia Prize for his acting achievements, to denounce the actions of Benjamin Netanyahu's Israeli government, which continued airstrikes on Gaza after Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
“We welcome [the award] with great joy, but I don't feel like celebrating”, reads the translation of Bardem's statement which appeared in the Spanish press. “What happened in Gaza is unacceptable and dehumanising”.
The San Sebastian Film Festival took place from 20 to 28 September. Light The Hollywood journalist festival coverage here.