HORROR HONOURED AMONGST CANNES 2021 WINNERS LIST

The twisted psychology and skewed world view of the serial killer is central to two of the top award winners at the 2021 Festival de Cannes. Julia Ducornau’s Titane, a nightmarish study of a killer impregnated by a car, won the coveted Palme d’Or, with Caleb Landry’s portrayal of Australia’s worst mass murderer in Justin Kurzel’s Nitram earning the Best Actor trophy.

Photo credit: Valerie Hache / AFP

"There is so much beauty and emotion to be found in what cannot be pigeonholed,” said Ducornau, who exploded onto the horror scene in 2016 with her cannibal thriller, Raw. Her latest exploration of body-horror themes and aesthetics has stunned critics on the Croisette. “Thank you to the Jury for calling for more diversity in our film experiences and in our lives,” the French director said, upon receiving her award from actress Sharon Stone, “And thank you to the Jury for letting the monsters in.”

Caleb Landry was not quite so outspoken in accepting his award, presented to him by French actress Adèle Exarchopoulos. Citing nerves and a genuine fear he would have thrown-up if he had tried to speak, he gave no podium speech. (Pictured, right; credit - Christophe Simon / AFP)

Other major winners were Best Director Leos Carax, for the rock-opera romance Annette; Best Actress Renate Reinsve, for Joachim Trier’s stirring drama The Worst Person in the World; and, Best Screenplay recipient Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, for Drive My Car.  

It would appear that Jury members steadfastly refused to compromise their opinions with two tied awards announced - the Grand Prix was shared between Asghar Farhadi’s A Hero and Juho Kuosmanen’s Compartment No. 6, while Nadav Lapid Ahed’s Knee and Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Memoria tag-teamed the Jury Prize. (Pictured, left; Julia Ducorna and Sharon Stone; credit - Andreas Rentz / Getty Images)  

Wrapping up a vibrant 12-day event that succeeded in recapturing the starpower and spontaneity of great festivals of the past, competition jury head Spike Lee fluffed his duties but couldn’t spoil last night’s award ceremony. Lee inadvertently read out the Palme d’Or winner at the start of the evening and not the end, meaning Ducornau sat wriggling with glee in her seat for the duration of the event, waiting to collect her award.

Best Actress winner Renate Reinsvem, with Lee-Byung-Hun (credit - Andreas Rentz / Getty Images) 

The full list of 2021 Festival de Cannes winners:

COMPETITION
Palme d’Or: TITANE
Grand Prix — TIE: Asghar Farhadi, A HERO AND Juho Kuosmanen’s COMPARTMENT No. 6
Director: Leos Carax, ANNETTE
Actor: Caleb Landry Jones, NITRAM
Actress:  Renate Reinsve, THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD
Jury Prize — TIE: Nadav Lapid AHED'S KNEE and Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s MEMORIA
Screenplay: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, DRIVE MY CAR

OTHER PRIZES
Camera d’Or: MURINA, Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović
Short Films Palme d’Or: ALL THE CROWS IN THE WORLD, Tang Yi
Short Films Special Mention: AUGUST SKY, Jasmin Tenucci
Golden Eye Documentary Prize: A NIGHT OF KNOWING NOTHING, Payal Kapadia
Ecumenical Jury Prize: DRIVE MY CAR, Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Queer Palm: THE DIVIDE, Catherine Corsini

UN CERTAIN REGARD
Un Certain Regard Award: UNCLENCHING THE FIST, Kira Kovalenko
Jury Prize: GREAT FREEDOM, Sebastian Meise
Prize for Ensemble Performance: BONNE MERE, Hafsia Herzi
Prize for Courage: LA CIVIL, Teodora Ana Mihai
Prize for Originality: LAMB, Valdimar Johannsson
Special Mention: PRAYERS FOR THE STOLEN, Tatiana Huezo

DIRECTORS’ FORTNIGHT
Europa Cinemas Label: A CHIARA, Jonas Carpignano
Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers Prize: MAGNETIC BEATS, Vincent Maël Cardona

CRITICS’ WEEK
Nespresso Grand Prize: FEATHERS, Omar El Zohairy
Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers Prize: Elie Grappe and Raphaëlle Desplechin, OLGA
GAN Foundation Award for Distribution: Elie Grappe and Raphaëlle Desplechin, ZERO FUCKS GIVEN
Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award: Sandra Melissa Torres, AMPARO

CINÉFONDATION
First Prize: THE SALAMANDER CHILD, Theo Degen
Second Prize: SALAMANDER, Yoon Daewoon
Third Prize — TIE:LOVE STORIES ON THE MOVE, Carina-Gabriela Dasoveanu and CANTAREIRA, Rodrigo Ribeyro