Live from Cannes! The Awards

In a triumphant year for France, the 66th Cannes Festival’s top prize, the Palme d’Or for best film was attributed to “Blue is the Warmest Color”, a French, Belgian and Spanish production by Franco-Tunisian director, Abdellatif Kechiche. The jury determined that the award is to be shared between the director and the film’s two young leading actresses, Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux. “Blue is the Warmest Color” (“La Vie d’Adèle”) is presented in its official synopsis: “at 15, Adele doesn’t question it: a girl goes out with boys. Her life is turned upside down the night she meets Emma, a young woman with blue hair, who will allow her to discover desire, to assert herself as a woman and as an adult. In front of others, Adele grows, seeks herself, loses herself, finds herself…”

Kim Novak presented this year’s Grand Prix du Jury to Ethan and Joel Coen for “Inside Llewyn Davis“,set in Greenwich Village early 60s folk scene.

The best actress prize was awarded to Franco-Brazilian actress, Bérénice Bejo for her moving performance in  Asghar Farhadi’s fifth feature film, “The Past“, set in Paris. The actress, who pocketed a French César in 2012 for her role in “The Artist”, gave an emotional thanks to the director, almost speechless with surprise.

American actor Bruce Dern was named best actor for his role in Alexander Payne’s black and white family drama “Nebraska“. In a prior interview, Bruce Dern said “What means more [than an award] to me–judging from the enthusiastic reception we got during the 10-minute standing ovation–was that the audience felt that they’d just seen a movie that they hadn’t seen in a while.”

The best director award went to Mexican filmmaker, Amat Escalante for “Heli” a violent drama about a young girl who falls in love with a young policeman.

The best screenplay award went to “A Touch of Sin” by Chinese director, Jia Zhangke, which intertwines four stories from contrasting geographic in contemporary China.

The Jury Prize was awarded to “Like Father, like Son“, a moving Japanese family drama by Hirokazu Kore-eda.

Cinefondation and short films jury president Jane Campion presented the Palme d’Or for a short film prize to Korean filmmaker Byoung-Gon Moon for his 13-minute work, “Safe“.

While they had been touted as favorites by critics and audiences, neither Italian director’s Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Great Beauty” nor Steven Soderbergh’s “Behind the Candelabra”, took home an award.  James Gray (“The Immigrant”) and Nicolas Winding Refn (“Only God Forgives”) also walked away empty-handed.

After forty briskly paced minutes of award giving, mistress of ceremonies Audrey announced that the party was over. “Et voilà, c’est fini!” she said. “See you next year.”

 

 

 

Read the  full 66th Cannes Film Festival roundup in the Aug/Sept issue of France Today Magazine