Odessa A'zion is a hugger. The 25-year-old springs from a sofa on the rooftop terrace of the Chopard Suite at the Hôtel Martinez for a welcome embrace amid a dizzying 24 hours at the Cannes Film Festival. The night before, A'zion made her Cannes debut by hitting the Palais red carpet to face a crush of photographers while standing alongside actor Connor Swindells, French legend Isabelle Huppert and Chopard's Caroline Scheufele. They then made their way to Carlton Beach for a late night Chopard Trophy ceremony during which A'zion and Swindells were honored by Huppert as next-generation talents in front of Demi Moore, Chloe Zhao, Stellan Skarsgard, Ruth Negga, James Franco, Riley Keough, Nicky Hilton, Xavier Dolan and others. A'zion gave a speech — describing the experience as "really weird, crazy and surreal" — stayed for dessert and ducked out for a cameo at the hottest party in Cannes for her I Love LA co-star Jordan Firstman's directorial debut Club Kid. Then it was time for bed to get few hours of rest ahead of a full day of Chopard press to honor the occasion, accessorized by sparkling diamonds and a breathtaking view of the French Riviera over her shoulder. Post hug, The Hollywood Reporter spent 20 minutes with the Marty Supreme star to talk about her Cannes adventure, how Josh Safdie's film changed her life, what she learned from the backlash surrounding her Deep Cuts casting and why she's fiercely protective of her personal life.
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