COAT TALES

quentin Dupieux is sitting at a beachside restaurant in Cannes. It’s the day after his latest film Deerskin has just opened the Director’s Fortnight strand of the 2019 film festival, leaving everyone in great spirits. It’s hardly a surprise, though. Last time he was on the Croisette with his genre-bending 2010 horror Rubber – the story of a homicidal tyre – he was the talk of Cannes. Typical of his off-kilter humour, the production company even gave out free promotional condoms – rubbers, geddit? – to announce the film’s arrival.

There are no novelty gifts this time around. “The movie’s so good, it doesn’t need bullshit like this,” he says, bullishly. His ebullient mood is understandable. Yesterday, he was in the company of director John Carpenter, who was at the premiere. “I was so happy,” he cries. “Two guys were like my main masters when I was a kid, Carpenter and the other one was [Suspiria ] Argento. I used to watch their