Saturday at the Great Debussy Hall of the Cannes Film Festival, award day. On the stage are the winners of the various categories of the “Some Views” section, where the international path of Yorgos Lanthimos once began, and members of the jury. Only one big winner is missing, Molly Manning Walker, creator of How to Have Sex, which just became the highlight of this year’s program. Considering it unlikely that he would win, he had already left for Rome … And yet.

“Five minutes left,” someone says to actor and committee chairman John S. Reilly. Of course, like a true American, he doesn’t let the awkward anticipation scare the audience away. She picks up the microphone and starts to sing (beautiful) a cappella until an aspiring film director comes running in, panting, in a skimpy T-shirt and sweatpants. Of course, he is deified.

A few days ago, also in Cannes, we had the good fortune to get to know Mia McKenna Bruce, the young protagonist of How to Have Sex, filmed entirely in Malia, Crete, with a Greek producer. Heretic. By the way, this is the second successive victory in Cannes for the company of Constantinos Kontovrakis and Giorgos Karnavas after last year’s Palme d’Or for the Triangle of Sorrow.

“The experience in Greece was fantastic. Everyone was kind and helpful, you honestly didn’t feel like you were doing a job. Like the almost all Greek crew, we quickly became a big family, we were together all the time. Obviously, when you’re telling a story like ours, it’s very important that everyone feels comfortable and safe,” Bruce tells us.

It tells the story of three 18-year-old girls from England who come to Malia for days – and nights – of endless partying, drinking and flirting.

The experience in Greece was fantastic – everyone was so kind and helpful that you honestly didn’t feel like you were doing a job.

Tara, the character she plays, ends up having a bad experience that marks her vacation. In any case, we ask the British actress if she made her own… pilgrimage to Malia. “Of course! I remember it was sort of like a rite of passage at the end of school. People were just asking when you were going, where was the given. So yeah, I felt like I was 17 again, because that’s how it really is. When I first read the script, it seemed completely unreal.”

In the film, the three girls soon meet a group of boys and begin to explore the parties, clubs, and other cultural “places” in the area.

As a viewer, you get the feeling that you are actually watching a group of classmates and friends who are having fun, often playing with the camera itself. “It definitely felt like a partnership right from the start and it’s fantastic. Molly trusted us a lot, wrote this great script and gave us the freedom to interpret and adapt it on the spot. This helped develop the group’s dynamics and make the ensemble more alive. We didn’t know each other before, but we went through quite a long audition period, and then we continued to do everything together, became friends.”

The full interview with Mia McKenna Brusha will be published along with the film’s release in Greek cinemas next season.