Fresh from the Cannes Film Festival in France, actress-producer Sylvia Sanchez, chief executive of Nathan Studios, said she was grateful for having participated in the prestigious film festival and collaborating with film producers abroad via the Japanese art movie Renoir.

During lunch at North Solaire in Quezon City recently, Sylvia recalled the Red Carpet moment when Renoir became part of the main competition during the festival.

Masaya kami na nasa competition ang movie namin. Nasa red carpet kami. All smiles kami at tuwang tuwa talaga kami, said Sylvia. May mga ibang festival na nag-invite sa pelikula. Marami rami na ang nag-invite sa pelikula. So it will be shown in Japan. It will be shown in France in August. Then in the Philippines later this year.

“Renoir,” an art film directed by noted Japanese auteur Chie Hayakawa (Plan 75), tells the story of Fuki, whose father is fighting a terminal illness and her mother is stressed out from caring for him. She later becomes fascinated with telepathy and leads herself into her fantasy world. It stars newcomer Yui Suzuki as the 11-year-old Fuki, alongside Hikari Ishida and Lily Franky.

Akala ko nga magbe-best actress siya eh (Yui). Sobrang galing niya pati body language ang galing. (I thought she would be the best actress. She's so talented, and her body language is impressive), Sylvia said.

The film is a collaboration among Japan's Happinet Studios, France’s Ici et Là Productions, Singapore’s Akanga Film Asia, Indonesia’s Kawan Kawan Media, and the Philippines’ Daluyong Studio and Nathan Studios. Goodfellas is handling international sales. It is a multinational production from Japan, France, Qatar, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines, with Nathan Studios co-financing the film. It was already released and shown at the highly respected Cannes Film Festival on the red carpet last May.

“This international collaboration creates a massive positive impact on the Filipino film industry; it also gives a lot of hope to Filipino film producers to go to the global market, especially here in Cannes,” Sylvia said.

She added: “Malaking impact ito, the mere fact na three years pa lang kami nagpupunta sa Cannes as a producer, isa na kami sa naka pag partnership sa international productions at nakapag-red carpet muli dito sa Cannes. I am hoping for more Filipino film producers to enter the global stage, whether it is solo or in collaboration with other foreign producers.”

Two of Nathan Studio’s earlier movies — psychological thriller Cattleya Killer in 2022 and action flick Topakk in 2023 — also premiered in the Cannes Film Festivals that starred both by veteran actor Quezon City first district re elected Congressman Juan Carlos “Arjo” Atayde which gained the attention of international film buyers, film aficionados, and distributors for the last three years.

Sylvia, who celebrated her birthday in a European country, also said that she is ecstatic that the “Renoir” film is part of the main competition of Cannes.

“I’m still in disbelief and ecstatic that Renoir (directed by Chie Hayakawa, and co-produced with Eiko Mizuno Gray and Jason Gray, Christophe Bruncher, Yulia Evina Bhara, and Alemberg Ang) was selected as part of the 2025 Cannes competition.

“When we were starting with Nathan Studios, this was only something we dreamt of and aimed for—and now, it is finally here. All the hard work, determination, belief, and prayers have borne fruit! she added.

Sylvia couldn't contain her excitement as she mingled amid the vibrant atmosphere of the film festival. The thrill of spotting a few Hollywood stars in the crowd sent a rush of adrenaline through her. She eagerly gazed at the glimmering red carpet where glamorous actors and actresses posed for photographers, their dazzling outfits sparkling under the bright lights.

Una kong nakita si Cate Blanchett. Then sunod naman si Halle Berry. Andun din si Juliette Binoche. Pero bumilib lang talaga ako kay James Franco. Mahirap talagang magpa-picture sa kanila. Tumatanggi sila. Pero iba si James. (First, I saw Cate Blanchett. Then Halle Berry. Juliette Binoche was there too. But I was just really impressed with James Franco. It was tough to take a picture with them. Some refused. But James was different.)

So yung kausap ko, noong dumaan sa amin si James, sabi niya, 'James?' Ako naman kasi lumampas na siya. So nasabi ko, 'James Franco?' So humarap siya at mag sign siyang ginawa. Then pumasok na siya sa room. (So when I was talking to my friend, and when James passed us, my friend said, 'James?' Then I said, 'James Franco?' So James turned around and made a sign. Then he went into the room.)

After five minutes, lumabas uli siya sa room. So may kausap ako. Then sumenyas siya na picture raw kami. Ako naman, 'Oh, my God! Hollywood actor ito. Bihira kasi ang ganun eh. So nagpicture kaming dalawa. Nagpasalamat ako. (After five minutes, James came out of the room again. So I was talking to someone. Then he motioned for us to take a picture. I was like, 'Oh, my God! This is a Hollywood actor. That's rare.' So we both took a picture. I thanked him.)

During the awarding ceremony naman, nakita naman namin si Elle Fanning. Yun lang naman. Natutuwa ako kasi artista rin naman ako at nakita ko ang mga Hollywood stars. (I also saw Elle Fanning. That's all. I was happy because I'm also an actress and I saw these Hollywood stars), Sylvia recalled.

Reviews for the film are glowing, with Deadline's Stephanie Bunbury noting that while the film is scattered, it does not detract from the film’s beauty or the strength of the performances.

If this story doesn’t coalesce as seamlessly as her first film does, it still has the power to touch and then to haunt us. It does not take a fortune teller to predict that Chie Hayakawa will soon make her masterpiece, Bunbury noted in her review.

Writing for Variety, Jessica Kiang said that Hayakawa's film is a slender but appealingly impressionistic story of an inquisitive young girl's summer of life, death and amateur parapsychology,

““Renoir” is a more diffuse yet in some ways more interesting sophomore feature, that follows where its lovely, mercurial central character leads and, taking a cue from the painter of the (rather tangential) title, lets the brushstrokes show to deliver a firsthand impression of growing up in 1980s Japan., Kiang added.

The Hollywood Reporter's Lovia Gyarkye, on the other hand, said the movie is a poetic meditation on a crucial summer of Fuki as she navigated her father's battle with cancer, her mother's ambient stress, and persistent loneliness.

Part of the reason Renoir, despite its modesty, hits emotionally of Suzuki’s compelling performance. The newcomer has a wide-eyed, penetrating stare that at once communicates the reality of Fuki’s innocence and the depth of her curiosity. In the actress’s hands, the character becomes someone you come to feel deeply protective of, Gyarkye noted.