25

I was at the last festival premiere, exactly two rows from the cast. I felt incredible. 

But just as the lights dimmed, the man behind me began to snore. Loudly. Violently. Heads turned. 

We were 15 minutes into the film, and the snoring hadn’t stopped. A man across the aisle stood, crossed the pathway, and tapped him awake.

It worked… 

for maybe thirty seconds. 

Then the snoring resumed, even louder than before. The director turned around. So did several cast members. I sat frozen, wondering if I should intervene.

But I didn’t. 

Maybe I still felt like an outsider — in an Orchestra seat I didn’t belong in, as a non-industry student. Or was I just too cowardly? Either way, no one else moved.

The man slept through the entire film. And I spent two and a half hours listening to a stranger’s dreams.

Cannes (Part III), May 2024
Anonymous