Refn Weeps at Cannes Recounting 25-Minute Death
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- Nicolas Winding Refn broke down in tears at the Cannes press conference for "Her Private Hell," his first feature in 10 years, recounting that he "died for 25 minutes" three years ago after being diagnosed with a "leaking heart" discovered by accident
- Refn said he had given up on filmmaking before the health scare, telling reporters: "Before I died, I had come to the end of my career because I didn't have anything left in me"
- Refn was operated on two weeks after learning he would "probably not live," and credited the experience with a renewed creative purpose, saying he received a "second chance from God"
- "Her Private Hell" premiered Monday night at Cannes to a seven-minute ovation and is described as "a neon-tinted fever dream" starring Sophie Thatcher as a tortured movie star confronting her father
- The cast of "Her Private Hell" includes Thatcher, Charles Melton, Havana Rose Liu, Kristine Froseth, Dougray Scott, Diego Calva, Shioli Kutsuna, Aoi Yamada, and Hidetoshi Nishijima
- Refn addressed AI — a dominant topic at this year's Cannes — saying he is not opposed to using it as a creative tool, calling it "like a brush," and teasing its involvement in a future project
Why it matters: Refn's 10-year absence from features had become a genuine question mark for cinephiles, so a comeback anchored in a literal brush with death reframes the gap as a reset rather than a retreat. With "Her Private Hell" earning a seven-minute Cannes ovation, his re-entry lands with industry validation. His openness to AI also positions him as a notable voice in a Cannes conversation that is shaping how the festival's filmmakers approach new tools.
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