Ira Sachs‘ The Man I Love received a rousing standing ovation — 7 minutes plus — when it premiered Wednesday night in the main competition at the 79th Cannes Film Festival, with the film’s director and cast — Rami Malek, Tom Sturridge and Luther Ford — ascending the Palais des Festivals steps for the evening’s gala screening.

Set in New York circa 1984, The Man I Love centers on Jimmy George (Malek), a beloved queer entertainer living with AIDS who refuses to stop working — and is determined to mount a new theatrical production as time runs short. His world is anchored by his devoted partner Dennis (Sturridge) and complicated by a simmering affair with a younger neighbor, Vincent, played by Luther Ford in a beguiling feature-film debut.

The premiere audience applauded through the credits and then roared as the lights came up. Malek, making his debut at the festival, seemed particularly overwhelmed. As a camera zoomed in on his face, his eyes filled with tears, before he slowly turned in a circle as if trying to commit the entire theater to memory. Soon, he appeared to get uncomfortable and dissolved into a grin, trying to pass off the spotlight to anyone in reach: Sachs, costars Tom Sturridge and Luther Ford, and even festival director Thierry Frémaux. 

Malek appears to have thrust himself into the awards conversation with this performance, which includes a genuine showstopper when, as Jimmy, he mournfully sings Melanie’s 1970 B-side, “Look What They’ve Done to My Song, Ma,” to his family.

“Well, this is lovely,” Sachs said, taking a microphone. “This is a film about what we can bring to each other, through art, through love, through pain, through memory, and I hope there are some memories we share for this evening, for this festival, and for our love of cinema. … None of us will be here forever, just to say. But there are moments that we will remember, and I tried with this movie, with this incredible cast, to fill this movie with things that I want to remember. And now this night will be added to that.”

He took a moment to have everyone who helped make the movie raise a hand — some 100 people — then Sachs gestured to Malek, Sturridge and Ford, and thanked “the three men who gave of their souls to make this film possible.” 

Sachs, who co-wrote the script with longtime collaborator Mauricio Zacharias, drew inspiration from real-life experimental artists who continued creating until their final days — among them Ron Vawter of The Wooster Group and pioneering gay comedian Frank Maya.

The supporting cast includes Rebecca Hall and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Jimmy’s sister and brother-in-law, alongside dozens of real New York artists Sachs has known over the years, many of them filling out the film’s boisterous theatrical troupe.

The Man I Love arrives only 16 months after Sachs’ previous feature, Peter Hujar’s Day, continuing one of the most quietly prolific and critically admired runs in American independent cinema. Four of his last seven features have received Spirit Award nominations for best feature, including the critically acclaimed Passages.

The Man I Love is currently seeking U.S. distribution. MK2 Films is handling international sales with WME Independent repping North America.