Palme D'Or Winner
Jane Fonda handed over Cannes Film Festival's most prestigious award, the Palme d'Or, to French director Justine Triet and her legal thriller film Anatomie d'une Chute (tr: Anatomy of a Fall), much different from her previous filmography, mostly centred on comedy. The story revolves around a family composed of Sandra, Samuel and their 11-year-old blind son, Daniel, who live in a lodge in the French Alpes. One day, Samuel is found dead right outside their home, and Sandra becomes the first suspect. The whole movie is structured around a complicated labyrinth of truth.
Grand Prix Winner
British director Jonathan Glazer's The Zone of Interest won the Grand Prix, which is the second most important award of the Festival. Two legendary directors, Roger Corman and Quentin Tarantino, presented the award. The film is inspired by the 2014 book of the same name by Martin Amis: a German family and other characters living next to the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz during World War II go about their daily lives within the so-called “zone of interest” (Interessengebiet) of about 25 miles around the camp, deliberately blind to the horror that is unfolding beyond the wall that divides them.
Jury Prize Winner
The Jury Prize, presented by actor Orlando Bloom, was awarded to Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki’s Les feuilles mortes (tr: Fallen Leaves), a sentimental comedy that focuses on two characters who are part of the Finnish proletariat: Ansa, a shelver with a zero-hour contract in a supermarket, and the equally lonely worker Holappa, who has some drinking problems. The two meet by chance in Helsinki and try to find their first and last love.
Best Director
The Best Director Award, presented by creative director of Pixar Studios Pete Docter, was won by Vietnamese director Trần Anh Hùng for La Passion de Dodin Bouffant (tr: The Pot-Au-Feu). The film is a French historical drama set in 1885 and is about the love story between a cook (played by Juliette Binoche) and the foodie she works for, Mr. Dodin Bouffant (portrayed by Benoit Magimel).
Best Screenplay
Sakamoto Yuji won Best Screenplay for Monster, directed by Kore-Eda Hirokazu. The award was presented by the president of the "Un Certain Regard" jury, actor John C. Reilly. Minato is a young boy who shows increasingly worrisome behaviour both at school and at home - it soon becomes apparent that his teacher is the source of all the problems. But as the mystery unfolds, the truth reveals itself to be more complex than expected. The film depicts relationship, family and institutional dynamics through the clash between the individual and the school to portray the concept of truth influencing emotions and behaviour.
Best Actor
Koji Yakusho was awarded Best Actor for Wim Wenders' Perfect Days. Fellow actor Song Kang-ho handed over the award. The Japanese actor plays the role of Hirayama, who works as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo. The man seems happy with his simple life and in his spare time devotes himself to his passions: music and books. A series of encounters reveal more about his past.
Best Actress
Merve Dizdar won Best Actress for the film About Dry Grasses by Nuri Bildge Ceylan. Presenting the award was actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi, last year’s winner for this category. Dizdar portrays a teacher who meets Samet, a young art professor finishing his fourth year of compulsory service, in a remote Anatolian village.
Camera d’Or for Best First Film
Actress Anaïs Demoustier presented the award to the feature film Ben Trong Vo Ken Vang (tr: Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell) by Vietnamese director Thien An Pham. After his sister-in-law dies in a freak motorcycle accident in Saigon, Thien is bestowed the task of delivering her body back to their countryside hometown. Amidst the mystical landscapes of rural Vietnam, Thien begins a search for his older brother who vanished years ago to hand Dao over to him - a journey which deeply questions his faith.
Palme d’Or for Best Short Film
Actress Stacy Martin and director Ildikó Enyedi, President of the Short Film Jury and La Cinef, awarded the Palme d'Or to Hungarian filmmaker Flor Anna Buda's animated short 27. The film centers on a 27-year-old Alice, who finds escape from her boring life by escaping into her dream world. One night, after attending a party, she is involved in a serious accident, which might push her into making some big changes in her life.
