Mia McKenna-Bruce had watched How to Have Sex just once before it screened at this year’s Cannes film festival. The first viewing had been in London: an intimate, cast-and-crew-only affair. Between marvelling at the visuals, score, edit, and cheering on the rest of the performances, she had little time to take in what was actually unfolding on screen.
“And maybe,” McKenna-Bruce now says, “I was also too in shock to really digest anything. It was only at Cannes in May that I really sat back and took in what happened to Tara, my character. I sobbed my heart out. You really see her journey, the nuances of the experiences she has, in a way I had no idea was possible. It was overwhelming.” That Cannes crowd gave How to Have Sex an eight-minute standing ovation, and it went on to win the Un Certain Regard award, which often recognises less-established film-makers. It is well deserved. The film is an impressive debut from writer-director Molly Manning Walker, and the nuance of McKenna-Bruce’s performance is remarkable.
