Cannes Film Festival 2015: And the winners are…
updated the 6 October 2015 à 23:07
The Coen brothers and their jury have spoken. Find out who won this year’s most prestigious film award.
The past few days may have been a blurry combination of elegant ball gowns and star-studded photo calls, with everyone vying for their 15 minutes of glamour on the red carpet, but let’s not forget what the Cannes Film Festival is essentially about: a celebration of the best films of all genres from around the world, with the Palme d’Or being one of the most prestigious awards in the film industry.
On Sunday, the 68th edition of the Cannes Film Festival came to a close with the Palme d’Or going to Jacques Audiard for his drama Dheepan. The film tells the story of three Sri Lankan Tamil refugees who pretend to be related in order to leave their war-torn country and move to Paris. Although well received by critics, it was far from an obvious favourite, which made its announcement quite a surprise for many.
The Grand Prix award, which is the runner up to the Palme d’Or went to first time filmmaker Laszlo Nemes for Son of Saul, the acclaimed Holocaust drama about a Jewish prisoner who works as a Sonderkommando (person who clears the dead bodies in the camp) While doing his job, he comes across the corpse of a young boy who happens to be his son. Many expected this gripping movie to be a shoo in for the Palme d’Or but it’s been 26 years since a debut film has snagged the award.
Other contenders who went home happy include Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-Hsien, who bagged the best director award for his martial arts movie The Assassin. The best actress prize went to both Rooney Mara from Carol and Emmanuelle Bercot from Mon Roi. Most expected the split to be between Mara and Carol co-star Cate Blanchett. Thankfully the best actor award wasn’t so complicated with Vincent Lindon snagging it for his performance in The Measure of a Man. The Jury Prize went to Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos for his film The Lobster, a deadpan dsytopian comedy about a future where unmarried singles are turned into the animal of their choice. The Palme d’Or for best short film was given to Lebanese director Ely Dagher for his film Waves ’98.
Despite the selfie stick ban and the controversial heelgate, Cannes continues to be the film festival that sets the benchmark for everyone in the entertainment industry.
Karen George
Photos: SIPA
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