STAR POWER AND SWEDISH SATIRE EARN CANNES 2017 TOP HONOURS
Simon FosterThe Square, a Swedish social satire that utilises elements of performance art and conceptual design, has taken Palme d’or honours at the 70th Cannes Film Festival. The closing night gala was held at the Grand Theatre Lumiere and launched in glamourous style by Mistress of Ceremonies, Monica Bellucci, whose movie star moxie ushered in an evening in which old-school star power was feted in the key categories.
The decision to bestow the festival’s top honour upon director Ruben Ostlund’s follow-up to his Un Certain Regard winner, Force Majeure was met with bemused looks by some attending the ceremony. Critical toing-and-froing and passionate audience debate had greeted the bracingly original work, a response that has been the death knell for past Cannes competitors given the importance placed upon jury consensus in the final voting. In a moment the likes of which the Cannes closing night had never seen, Ostlund led the black tie crowd in a collective primal scream, echoing the descent into madness central to his film. (Pictured, top; Ruben Ostlund, director of The Square, with fellow winners and jury members)
Acting honours were given to high-profile names Diane Kruger, for Fatih Akins’ In The Fade, and Joaquin Phoenix, for Lynne Ramsay’s You Were Never Really Here. Kruger, who runs the gamut of emotions as the grieving, angry survivor of an act of terrorism, acknowledged the victims of such acts, saying, “Please know that you are not forgotten.” Phoenix was his typically enigmatic self, appearing stunned by the award and accepting the trophy wearing sneakers. (Pictured, above; a scene from The Square)
The Best Director award went to front-runner Sofia Coppola for The Beguiled, capping off a dream international launch for the director’s Civil War drama. The film’s lead Nicole Kidman, who had four separate projects on The Croisette, was officially crowned ‘belle of the ball’ with a special honour called the ‘70th Anniversary Award’ bestowed upon her.
The Grand Prix award went to Robin Campillo’s AIDS-era drama 120 BPM, set against the French LGBT struggle of the mid-90s. In an act that toyed with the one film/one trophy tradition of the Festival, screenplay honours were split between The Killing of a Sacred Deer, written by Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou, and Lynne Ramsay for You Were Never Really Here (for which Phoenix would be honoured, later in the night).
The full list of winners from the 70th Festival de Cannes are:
FEATURE FILMS – COMPETITION
PALME D'OR - THE SQUARE directed by Ruben ÖSTLUND
The Palme d'or was awarded by Juliette Binoche and Pedro Almodóvar.
70th ANNIVERSARY AWARD - Nicole KIDMAN
The 70th Anniversary Award was awarded by Will Smith.
GRAND PRIX - 120 BATTEMENTS PAR MINUTE (BPM – Beats Per Minute) directed by Robin CAMPILLO
The Grand Prix was awarded by Costa-Gavras and Agnès Jaoui.
BEST DIRECTOR PRIZE - Sofia COPPOLA for THE BEGUILED
The Best Director Prize was awarded by Fan BingBing and Gabriel Yared.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR - Joaquin PHOENIX in YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE directed by Lynne RAMSAY
The Best Performance by an Actor Prize was awarded by Jessica Chastain.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS - Diane KRUGER in AUS DEM NICHTS (In The Fade) directed by Fatih AKIN
The Best Performance by an Actress Prize was awarded by Irène Jacob and Paolo Sorrentino
JURY PRIZE - NELYUBOV (Loveless) directed by Andrey ZVYAGINTSEV
The Jury Prize was awarded by Maren Ade and Guillaume Gallienne.
BEST SCREENPLAY EX-ÆQUO – (TIE) Yorgos LANTHIMOS and Efthimis FILIPPOU for THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER; Lynne RAMSAY for YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE
The Best Screenplay Prize was awarded by Marisa Paredes and Park Chan-wook.
SHORT FILMS – COMPETITION
PALME D'OR - XIAO CHENG ER YUE (A Gentle Night) directed by QIU Yang
SPECIAL DISTINCTION BY THE JURY - KATTO (The Ceiling) directed by Teppo AIRAKSINEN
The Palme d'or and the Jury Special Mention for Shorts Films were awarded by Uma Thurman and Cristian Mungiu.
UN CERTAIN REGARD
UN CERTAIN REGARD PRIZE - LERD (A Man of Integrity) directed by Mohammad RASOULOF
PRIZE FOR BEST ACTRESS - JASMINE TRINCA for FORTUNATA directed by Sergio CASTELLITTO
PRIZE FOR THE BEST POETIC NARRATIVE - BARBARA directed by Mathieu AMALRIC
PRIZE FOR BEST DIRECTION - Taylor SHERIDAN for WIND RIVER
JURY PRIZE - LAS HIJAS DE ABRIL (April's Daughter) directed by Michel FRANCO
CAMÉRA D’OR
JEUNE FEMME (Montparnasse Bienvenüe) directed by Léonor SERRAILLE presented as part of UN CERTAIN REGARD
The Caméra d'or Prize was awarded by Sandrine Kiberlain, President of the Caméra d'or Jury.
CINEFONDATION
FIRST PRIZE - PAUL EST LÀ (Paul Is Here) directed by Valentina MAUREL
INSAS, Belgium
SECOND PRIZE - HEYVAN (AniMal) directed by Bahram & Bahman ARK
Iranian National School of Cinema, Iran
THIRD PRIZE - DEUX ÉGARÉS SONT MORTS (Two Youths Died) directed by Tommaso USBERTI, La Fémis, France
The CST Jury decided to award the VULCAIN PRIZE FOR ARTIST-TECHNICIAN to: Josefin ASBERG for her remarkable artistic contribution to match the inventiveness of the film THE SQUARE.
