Julian Schnabel’s The Diving Bell and the Butterfly won him the Director award at Cannes this year. After seeing it this morning, I can’t argue with the Cannes’ jury. I was simply blown away. How can somebody tell a gripping story of a man who–resulting from a stroke–can only communicate with one eyelid? All I can say is you will simply be amazed.

I interviewed Julian Schnabel and asked why he continues to orbit around intensely creative but “doomed” men (his previous two films are Basquiat and Before Night Falls, biopics about Jean Michel Basquiat and Cuban poet Reinaldo Arenas).

Julian Schnabel interview

Julian Schnabel in his regular attire (pajamas).

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Before Night Falls, Basquiat