On Sunday, May 28th, during the closing ceremony of the 70th Cannes International Film Festival hosted by Monica Bellucci, the jury presided by Pedro Almodovar gave its verdict. Discover the list of prize-winning movies of this anniversary edition.
The Square (© Plattform Produktion)
This year, the jury decided to give the “prix du scenario” to two feature films: You were never really here, a brutal drama written by Lynne Ramsay, and The killing of the sacred dear, directed by Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos who had already received an award in Cannes two years ago for The Lobster. The “Prix du Jury” was attributed to the movie Loveless by Andrey Zvyangintsev, which plunges the spectators at the heart of the Russian society. Diane Kruger received the “prix d’interprétation feminine” for her performance as a widower who seeks revenge for the murder of her family in the film In the fade by Fatih Akin. The “prix d’interprétation masculine” was awarded to Joaquin Phoenix who plays a former marine in You were never really here. The “prix de la mise en scène” was given to Sofia Coppola for The Beguiled and Robin Campillo received the “Grand Prix” for 120 Beats per Minute, a movie that met a formidable success when it was presented during the Festival.
In order to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival, the jury chose to offer a special award to Nicole Kidman for the four films that she presented this year. Eventually, the Palme d’Or was awarded to The Square, a comedy directed by Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund and which plunges us the barely known world of contemporary art.
The jury of the Camera d’Or (which is attributed to the best first feature film), presided by French actress Sandrine Kiberlain, decided to honour Jeune Femme by French director Léonor Seraille.
On Saturday, May 27th, in the Un Certain Regard category, the “Grand Prix” was attributed to the Iranian movie Lerd, A Man of Integrity by Mohammad Rasoulof which denounces corruption. The “prix de la mise en scène” was awarded to Wind River, a thriller taking place among Native American tribes directed by Taylor Sheridan. Italian actress Jasmine Trinca received the “prix de la performance d’acteur” for her role of a hairdresser in the film Fortunata directed by Sergio Castellitto. The jury presided by Uma Thurman also decided to honour two other feature films: April’s Daughters directed by Mexican filmmaker Michel Franco for the courage of its subject and Barbara by Mathieu Amalric for its poetic story.
Furthermore, on Thursday, May 25th, a jury of movie critiques from all over the world awarded the Grand Prix de la Semaine de la Critique to Makala, a moving documentary about a Congolese charcoal burner directed by French filmmaker Emmanuel Gras. And, the Oeil d’Or which prizes the best documentary was attributed to Agnès Varda and JR for Visages, Villages.
So, this year, the Festival remained faithful to its history and its original goal honouring independent and demanding movies that tackle topical issues. Nevertheless, by awarding the Palme d’Or to a crazy comedy, the jury added a bit of eccentricity to a rather anticipated and predictable prize list.