Japanese film Shoplifters wins Palme d’Or

CANNES AWARDS

Our Special Correspondent

Malti Sahai

CANNES, 21 May: Japanese film Shoplifters, a moving portrayal of society’s fringe dwellers, by Hirokazu Kore-eda today won the Palme d’Or at the 71st Cannes film festival. Cannes competition jury president and Australian actor Cate Blanchett announced the Palme d’Or winner at a packed closing ceremony tonight attended by the Who’s Who of global film industry. The jury presented a Special Palme d’Or to French New Wave Master Jean-Luc Godard for his new film, The Image Book. The Grand Jury Prize was bagged by American filmmaker Spike Lee for his anti-Trump racism drama BlacKKlansman.

Lebanese filmmaker Nadine Labaki won the Jury Prize for Capernaum, a powerful portrayal of the miserable lives of migrants in the Middle East. The Best Direction prize was bagged by Oscar-winning Polish filmmaker Pawel Pawlikowski for Cold War, a Second World War love story shot in black and white. The Best Actor award was won by Italian actor Marcello Fonte for his role in Dogman by Matteo Garrone. The Best Actress award went to Kazakhstan’s Samal Yesliamova for her role in competition entry Ayka by Sergey Dvortsevoy.

The award for the Best Screenplay was shared by Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi and Nader Saeivar for 3 Faces directed by Panahi, with Italian filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher who directed Happy as Lazzaro. Panahi, who is not allowed to travel outside Iran, was not present to receive the award.

The Palme d’Or for the Best Short Film in competition went to the Australian film All These Creatures by Charles Williams. Chinese film On the Border won the Jury Special Mention in the short film category. The Camera d’Or award for the Best First Feature Film of a director went to the Belgian transgender drama Girl by Lukas Dhont, which was part of Un Certain.

The festival, which began on May 8, concluded tonight with the screening of American-born British director Terry Gilliam’s new film, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.

Separately Sir, directed by Indian film maker Rohena Gera won the Gan Foundation award for promoting distribution of films, at the Critic’s Week.Manto by Nandita Dass which screened in Un Certain Regard had a positive response from the audience and critics but failed to get an award.

There were no Indian films in the prestigious competition section of the Cannes festival. The last Indian film in Cannes competition was Swaham by Malayalam director Shaji N Karun in 1994.

The Cannes festival’s Un Certain Regard Prize was bagged by Iranian director Ali Abbasi’s Border. In the same category, the Best Screenplay prize went to Sofia by Moroccan director Meryem Benm’barek and Best Director to Ukranian filmmaker Sergie Loznitsa for Donbass. The Best Performance in Un Certain Regard section was won by Belgian Victor Polster for his role in the transgender drama, Girl. The Jury Special Prize went to the Brazilian film The Dead and the Others.

The International Critics Prize presented by the jury of International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) was won by South Korean film Burning by Lee Chang-Dong in the competition section while Belgian film ‘Girl’ won in Un Certain Regard category. At the press conference following the award ceremony the Jury President for Competition CateBlanchett said they had witnessed some very strong performances from female actors this year and would like hear more female voices and see more female perspectives at the festival.

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