Tim Burton, we love you !
 

PostED ON 22.10.2022

Moved to tears, the filmmaker received the Lumière Award to a rousing standing ovation from the enthusiastic Lyon audience.

Following Jane Campion in 2021, Tim Burton received the 14th Lumiere Award Friday evening in front of 3,000 festivalgoers at the Lyon Convention Center.

In an outburst repeated at least twice during the evening, "Tim Burton, I love you!" was shouted by a young fan at the filmmaker, who was seen wiping away tears, touched by the sustained standing ovation from the crowd. He then made a flamboyant entrance, energized by the soaring theme song of ‘Batman’ (1989).

"I have never felt as much love as I have tonight! It is an honor to be in the birthplace of cinema. I have never experienced this. I’m speechless! This is one of the most beautiful things that has ever happened to me," exclaimed the American director, upon receiving the Lumière Award from the hands of Italian actress Monica Bellucci.

Tim Burton et les invités © Léa Rener

The star-studded celebration included Vincent Lindon, Tony Gatlif, Michèle Laroque, Claude Lelouch, Jean-Paul Rappeneau, Alice Taglioni, Vincent Perez and Irène Jacob, President of the Institut Lumière, to name but a few…

"Your dreams and nightmares push back the walls by expanding our minds. You are a visionary filmmaker; your visual images reach us with strength and clarity. They are so vivid, that we believe them to be real. In your movies, the monsters are joyful and emotional. Your films help us overcome our fears and accept our human condition. Your cinema is a liberating breath of fresh air,” Irène Jacob remarked. Earlier, Vincent Lindon had declared his admiration for Tim Burton: "You invent monsters that we would like to hold in our arms. I would like to tell you that your lens is a big heart that sends the camera running towards girls and boys," quoting Jean-Luc Godard, before paying tribute to French cinema and its unique system. "You are a total artist, constantly enlightened, who strives to provide another form of reality."

 At the piano, actress Alice Taglioni offered the audience a moment of grace with her impressive and emotionally moving classical performance. As a surprise gift for Tim, she followed her own repertoire with the theme song from ‘Corpse Bride’.

"I'm well aware that Tim Burton is thinking, ‘Who the hell is this guy?’" comedian Vincent Dedienne then quipped in impeccable French, the venue erupting in laughter, before performing a revisited version - full of Burtonian references - of ‘Papa, maman’ by Georges Brassens and Patachou.

Vincent Dedienne, Irène Jacob, Monica Bellucci, Tim Burton, Imany, Alice Taglioni et Vincent Lindon © Léa Rener

To close out the gala in style, singer Imany performed a soulful rendition of Harry Belafonte's ‘Banana Boat Song,’ with its nod to the iconic scene from ‘Beetlejuice’ (1988). After his coronation and before the screening of ‘Dark Shadows,’ the 2022 Lumière Award laureate posed for photos and signed autographs. Then, as Beetlejuice would say, "It's showtime!”

© Jean-Luc Mège

Laura Lépine and Benoit PAVAN