Sean Penn and Tye Sheridan are reunited on the big screen after more than a decade in "Black Flies," a gritty tale about New York City paramedics that premiered in Cannes on Thursday.

Penn smoked a cigarette and then handed it off to be disposed of before stepping onto the red carpet for the screening of the movie, directed by Jean-Stephane Sauvaire, in competition for the Cannes Film Festival's top prize.

The two actors previously appeared together in 2011's Palme d'Or winner "The Tree of Life," directed by Terrence Malick.

Oscar-winning Penn, 62, plays veteran paramedic Rutkovsky while Sheridan, 26, known for his role as Cyclops in the X-Men film series, stars as Cross, who is just starting in the field.

Former boxer Mike Tyson, Michael Pitt from "Funny Games," and Katherine Waterston of "Inherent Vice" also have parts.

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The film is adapted from the novel "911" by Shannon Burke, based on the U.S. author's real-life experiences as a paramedic in Harlem during the crack epidemic in the mid-1990s.