Kanye West premieres short film ‘Cruel Summer’ at Cannes

Rapper says he wants to change the way people watch films

Kanye West’s experimental short film ‘Cruel Summer’ had its premiere in Cannes on Wednesday.

The 30-minute film, inspired by the rapper’s forthcoming GOOD Music compilation of the same name, was projected onto seven screens inside a pyramid-shaped tent, MTV reports.

The film stars hip-hop artist and actor Kid Cudi as a car thief who falls in love with a blind Arabian princess and features seven screens which alternately come on and off, encouraging the audience to look around at the images, rather than staring straight ahead.

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In a speech at the opening, West explained that this was to reflect real life: “It related to a post-Steve Jobs, post-Windows era, where we’re always on our BlackBerry in a ball game or at the movies”. He added:

I was very particular about having the screens separate, where your mind puts the screens back together, the way you put memories together. I’m not the best director in the world, but I had an idea that I thought would be amazing to inspire people, like a dream of one day this being the way people watch movies

He continued: “People want to go back and see it more and more because they missed something to their left or to their right, and it feels more like the experience of life.”

The film was co-directed by Alexandre Moors, who previously worked with West on the music videos for ‘Runaway’ and ‘Niggas In Paris’. The script was based on a screenplay by Elon Rutberg, and it was shot in Qatar in the Middle East.

The rapper, who has recently been working on Justin Bieber’s new album ‘Believe’, has just finished playing five nights at London’s O2 Arena with Jay-Z for the their ‘Watch The Throne’ tour. The duo will play Manchester’s Evening News Arena on June 11 and 12, Birmingham’s LG Arena on June 13 and 22 and Sheffield Motorpoint Arena on June 21.

To check the availability of Kanye West/Jay-Z tickets and get all the latest listings, go to NME.COM/TICKETS now, or call 0871 230 1094.

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