Nicolas Winding Refn in tears in Cannes: “I was dead for 25 minutes…”

The Danish director reveals that he experienced serious heart problems in 2023, which kept him away from the sets. Very moved at a press conference today on the Croisette, he tells…

Particularly moving moment at the Cannes Film Festival today.

At the press conference for his new film Her Private Hellprojected out of competition, Nicolas Winding Refn burst into tears in journalists, talking about a near-death experience that occurred three years ago.

The Danish filmmaker, who is making his big return to cinema after ten years of absence, revealed that he had been declared “dead for 25 minutes” following a serious heart problem. He confides with sincerity:

“Before I died, I had reached the end of my career because I had nothing left in me, said the director of Drive. I had nothing more to do.“

Nicolas Winding Refn then explains that a “leaking heart” was diagnosed completely by chance.

“Suddenly I was told I probably wasn’t going to survive. And even if I survived, they didn’t know what might happen. Two weeks later, I had surgery…“

The filmmaker then tried to lighten the atmosphere with a joke: “Luckily the surgeon was Tom Cruise and he could repair me with his hands before bringing me back to life with electricity…“But the emotion quickly took over. Overwhelmed by this still painful memory, Nicolas Winding Refn explained that this experience had completely transformed his vision of life and cinema:

“I realized before I died that I had been given a gift: to be able to start again from scratch. How many people get a second chance? God gave me a second chance. And I can use it for good.“

Her Private Hella horror sci-fi thriller, notably brings together Sophie Thatcher and Charles Melton in the cast. No release date in France yet.