‘Oh, Canada’ Star Richard Gere Says ‘Artists Will Find a Way to Communicate’ in the Face of Oppression

“Oh, Canada” premiered to a four-minute standing ovation at the 77th Cannes Film Festival late Friday night, signifying a defining moment for legendary director Paul Schrader. For his latest film, the “First Reformed” filmmaker adapted the novel “Foregone” by the late Russell Banks about an American man who flees to Canada during the 1968 Vietnam War draft.

When Schrader was confronted at the Cannes press conference on Saturday for the movie about his advice for young filmmakers protesting for their right to freedom of expression in countries that don’t always allow it, he said, “You only have what someone else doesn’t have: Your own narrative.”