The closing ceremony of the prestigious Cannes Film Festival took place on Saturday, with a French horror film taking home the event’s top prize.
Women win when Justine Triet holds the Palme d’Or
This year’s Cannes Film Festival was marked by a record number of female directors, with seven of the 21 competing films made by women, including both newcomers and longtime directors.
Justine Triet, 44, won the main prize, with “Anatomy of a Fall” being awarded the Palme d’Or for best film.
Triet is the third female director to win the prestigious Palme d’Or. She prevailed over veteran directors like Hirokazu Kore-eda, Ken Loach and Wim Wenders, all of whom have won at least one Palme d’Or.
It stars German actress Sandra Hüller as a writer trying to prove her innocence after being accused of her husband’s death.
In his acceptance speech, Triet criticized the French government for recent protests against President Emmanuel Macron.
“The country has suffered historic protests over pension system reform. These protests have been rejected … shockingly suppressed,” she said.
Best Actor and Actress Award
In the best actress category, Turkey’s Merve Dizdar was nominated for About Dry Grasses, Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s latest work that was a favorite at the festival.
The best actor award went to Japan’s Koji Yakusho for Perfect Days, a film by German director Wim Wenders that tells the story of a Tokyo toilet cleaner.
The Grand Prix, the second highest prize after the Palme d’Or, went to British director Jonathan Glazer’s “Zone of Interest”, about a family living next door to Auschwitz.
Meanwhile, the Best Director award went to French-Vietnamese filmmaker Tran Anh Hung for The Pot-au-Feu, a food love story, set in a gourmet French castle in the 19th century.
jcg/msh (AP, AFP, Reuters)
