John Travolta touched down at Cannes with his directorial debut, Propeller One-Way Night Coach, at the Cannes Film Festival, where he was given the honorary Palme d’Or.

Festival head Thierry Fremaux gave Travolta the honor. “You said this would be a special night, but I didn’t think you meant this. This is a humbling moment,” said Travolta. “This is beyond the Oscar.”

The film, which is set to debut on Apple on May 29, is based on Travolta’s book of the same name and follows a young aviation enthusiast, Jeff, and his mother as they embark on a cross-country flight to Hollywood.

“When John came to us in the fall, he was very humble and shy with the idea of showing the film as an officially selec[tion],” said Fremaux, revealing that Propeller was the first film selected for the 79th edition and calling Travolta “one of the greatest artists of the 20th and 21st century.”

“When you told me this would be the earliest film accepted, I cried,” said Travolta.

The Travolta-starring Pulp Fiction from director Quentin Tarantino premiered at the fest, going on to win the Palme d’Or. Grease and Saturday Night Fever both played as a Cannes beach screening, while 1998 drama Primary Colors played out of competition and 1997 thriller She’s So Lovely played in competition.

Ella Bleu Travolta, who appears in the film as a flight attendant, was on hand for the screening at the Debussy Theater. Clark Shotwell, Kelly Eviston-Quinnett and Olga Hoffmann also star in the Propeller.

“What a night for me, thank you all for being here and for witnessing my directorial debut,” said Travolta, adding it was a very personal film.”