Hollywood heavyweight Kevin Costner had an emotional response to the prolonged standing ovation he received at the Cannes Film Festival for his upcoming new movie, Horizon: An American Saga.

The film premiered at the festival this weekend and the response was overwhelmingly positive, with Costner looking on in awe at the support he received for his role in it.

Addressing the audience once the clapping had subsided, he said: "I'm sorry you had to clap that long for me to understand that I should speak. Such good people. Such a good moment, not just for me, but for the actors that came with me, for people who believed in me who continued to work. It's a funny business, and I'm so glad I found it. There's no place like here. I’ll never forget this — neither will my children".

Set during the American Civil War, the film focuses on the expansion of the American West and it is a particularly personal project for Costner, who invested a lot of his own money into making the $100 million-plus film. He also directs and stars in the film, which he produced and co-wrote. The film will be released this summer in two parts, on June 28 and August 16.

"I don't know why it's so hard to get people to believe in the movie I wanted to make... I don't think anybody else's movie is better than mine. I made it for people."

"It's a pattern that happens with me — with Dances With Wolves, Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, Open Range — the things I want to make are harder to make," he said.

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 is due to hit theaters June 28 via Warner Bros, with the second coming on its heels August 16. Costner told Deadline recently that Chapter 3 began production this month. Costner teased that Chapter 4 of Horizon will see a big presence by Native Americans in the story.

Watch the standing ovation that followed the screening below: