by Nathaniel R
Jesse Plemons (center) won Best Actor for Yorgos Lanthimos' KINDS OF KINDNESS © Searchlight
It's that time of year again. Cannes has wrapped and we can survey and begin to seek out all sorts of international films that have newfound cache. Some will rise as international hits and awards contenders, others will vanish except perhaps in the memories of those lucky enough to have seen their prize-winning festival bows. After the jump all the prizes and a few tidbits about the movies that took the Queer Palm, Palm Dog, and Camera D'Or...
COMPETITION
Director/Writer/Actress Greta Gerwig (US) led the jury. Her jury included screenwriter Ebru Ceylan (Turkey), directors Juan Antonio Bayona (Spain), Kore-eda Hikorazu (Japan), Nadine Labaki (Lebanon), and famous actors Lily Gladstone (US), Eva Green (France), Omar Sy (France), and Pierfrancesco Favino (Italy)
Palme d’Or: “Anora,” Sean Baker
Grand Prix: "All We Imagine As Light," Payal Kapadia
Director: Miguel Gomes, "Grand Tour"
Actor: Jesse Plemons, “Kinds of Kindness”
Now Plemons and wife Kirsten Dunst both have Cannes acting prizes! How many couples can say that?
Actress: Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, and Adriana Paz, "Emilia Pérez"
This is not, of course, the first time that a Cannes jury has decided to award a collective Best Actress prize. The most famous example may be the prize that went to the cast of Pedro Almódova's brilliant Volver (2006). We expect that Emilia Perez will continue being a hot topic of discussion this year. Can't wait to see it. Have you read Elisa's review?
Jury Prize: “Emilia Perez,” Jacques Audiard
Special Prize: "The Seed of the Sacred Fig," Mohammad Rasoulof
Screenplay: Coralie Fargeat, “Substance”
UN CERTAIN REGARD
Director/Writer/Producer/Actor Xavier Dolan (Canada) led the jury. His jury included Director/Writers Maïmouna Doucouré (France/Senegal), Asmae El Moudir (Morocco), Todd McCarthy (US), and actress Vicky Kreips (Germany/Luxembourg)
Un Certain Regard Award: “Black Dog,” Guan Hu
Black Dog stars Eddie Peng as a man tasked with collecting stray dogs and one dog that has a profound effect on him. In a heartwarming anecdote Peng adopted the dog after filming!
Jury Prize: “The Story of Souleyman,” Boris Lojkine
Best Director: [TIE] “On Becoming a Guina Fowl,” Rungano Nyoni AND "The Damned," Roberto Minervini
Youth Award: “Twenty Gods / Holy Cow,” Louise Courvoisier
Special Mention: “Norah,” Tawfik Alzaidi
Best Actress: Anasuya Sengupta in ”Shameless"
Best Actor: Abou Sangare in "The Story of Souleymane"
CAMERA D'OR
Actress Emmanuelle Beart (France) and Director/Songwriter Baloji (Belgium) co-presided over the jury for first films which also included Cinematographer Gilles Porte (France), Writer/Director Zoe Wittock (Belgium), Pascal Burton, and culture section editor Nathalie Chifflet (France).
ARMAND © Eye Eye Pictures 2024
Camera d’Or: “Armand," Halfdan Ullman Tøndel
This year's best first film went to a drama from Norway about a fight between two six year olds and the parents and school staff investigation. 34 year old Halfdan Ullman Tøndel is the grandson of cinema icons Liv Ullmann and Ingmar Bergman!
Camera d'Or Special Distinction: "Mongrel," Chiang Wei Liang and Yin You Qiao
A bleak drama about immigrant trade in Taiwan was also honored by the jury.
CRITICS WEEK
SIMON OF THE MOUNTAIN © Cannes Film Festival
Grand Prize: “Simon of the Mountain" Federico Luis
A drama from Argentina about a young man who befriends two disabled children.
French Touch Prize: “Blue Sun Palace" Constance Tsang
GAN Foundation Award for Distribution: "Julie Keeps Quiet" Jour2Fête
Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award: Ricardo Teodoro in "Baby"
Leitz Cine Discovery Priz (short): "Guil Sela" Montsouris Park
MISCELLANEOUS PRIZES
Various Juries
Short Films Palme d’Or: "The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent" Nebojša Slijepcevic
Short Films Special Distinction: “Bad For a Moment" Daniel Soares
Golden Eye Documentary Prize: "Ernest Cole: Lost and Found" AND "The Brink of Dreams"
Queer Palm: “Three Kilometers to the End of the World” a Romanian drama about a homophobic family's disintegration around their queer son.
Palm Dog: Kodi as Cosmos in "Dog on Trial" by Laetitia Dosch
Kodi is a nine year old Griffon who stars as a seeing eye dog on trial for a biting incident in this Swiss comedy which was part of the Un Certain Regard program. This prize was a tough break for China's "Black Dog"!
La Cinef First Prize: "Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know" Chidananda S Naik
La Cinef Second Prize: [TIE] "The Chaos She Left Behind" Nikos Kolioukos AND "Out the Window Through the Wall" Asya Segalovich
La Cinef Third Prize: "Bunnyhood" Mansi Maheshwari
FIPRESCI Main Competition “The Seed of the Sacred Fig" Mohammad Rasoulof
FIPRESCI Un Certain Regard "The Story of Souleymane" Boris Lojkine
FIPRESCI Parallel Sections "Desert of Namibia" Yoko Yamanaka
Europa Cinemas Label "The Other Way Around" Jonás Trueba
Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers Prize "This Life of Mine" Sophie Fillières
Audience Choice Award: "Universal Language" Matthew Rankin