Jury president was French actress, deity, provocateur Isabelle Huppert
Palme D'or: The White Ribbon by Michael Haneke. Cannes loves him long time. And so does Isabelle Huppert, his La Pianiste leading lady. Sony Pictures Classics has US distribution rights to this black and white costume drama about German village and school prior to World War I. It sounds like something of a departure for Haneke since his films are usually contemporary and often tightly focused on small casts. The extensive German voiceover will be rerecorded in English for that release.
Michael Haneke nabs the top prize Grand Prix: Un Prophète by Jacques Audiard. Sony Pictures Classics also has this one -- winner and runner up prepping for release? Not bad, SPC, not bad.
Jury Prize: It was a tie between the family drama Fish Tank by Andrea Arnold and vampire drama Thirst from Oldboy director Park Chan-Wook
Special Jury Prize: Director Alain Resnais won this special prize for Wild Grass. He's 86 and he's still making movies. His most famous film is probably Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959) but, rather incredibly, he's never had a film nominated for Oscar's foreign language race and he's only had won prize winner at Cannes, Mon Oncle d'Amérique (1980)
Best Director: Brillante Mendoza competed last year with Serbis and for this prolific Pinoy director, the second time is the charm. He won the prize for his violent drama Kinatay. This award will cause a ruckus. Many people detested the film, including Roger Ebert who declared it the worst in Cannes history.
Best Actress Charlotte Gainsbourgh for Lars Von Trier's Antichrist. This film just keeps adding fuel to its media fire. Well done Lars and your latest actress victim. You continue a grand tradition.
Best Actor Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds (see previous post for Rosengje's very similar enthusiasm)
Best Screenplay Feng Mei won for writing Lou Ye's explicit gay romantic drama Spring Fever
Palme D'Or (Short Film): Arena by Joao Salaviza
CAMERA D'ORThis award goes to the best first film. Warwick Thornton's buzzy Australian feature Samson and Delilah (pictured right) took the prize. He's previously made three short films. Special Mention went to Ajami by Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani
FIPRESCI
Competition: The White Ribbon by Michael Haneke
Un Certain Regard: Police, Adjective by Corneliu Porumboiu
Directors Fortnight: Amreeka by Cherien Dabis
UN CERTAIN REGARDJury president was Italian writer/director Paolo Sorrentino
Prize: Dogtooth by Yorgos Lanthimos. The synopsis sounds vaguely Virgin Suicides-ish, three teens are cut off from the outside world by their parents.
Jury Prize: Police, Adjective
Two Special Prizes: Father of My Children by Mia Hansen-Love and No One Knows About the Persian Cats by Bahman Ghobadi
CRITICS WEEK
Grand Prix: Goodbye Gary by Nassim Amaouche
SACD Prize: Lost Persons Area by Caroline Strubbe
Cash Prize, Young Critic Award and Regards Jeunes Prize: Whisper in the Wind by Shahram Alidi
Canal Plus Grand Prix (Short Film): Seeds of the Fall by Patrick Eklund
Kodak Discovery (Short Film): Logorama by Francois Alaux, Herve de Crecy and Ludovic Houplain
DIRECTORS FORTNIGHTArt Cinema, 7e Prix Regars Jeunes and the SACD Prize: Twenty year-old (!) actor Xavier Dolan-Tadros ' (pictured right) won an incredible three prizes for his directorial debut, a coming out mother-son drama called I Killed My Mother (J'ai Tue Ma Mere)
Special Mention: La Merditude des Choses by Felix van Groeningen
Europa Cinemas Label: La Pivellina by Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel
French short film: Montparnasse
THE SNUBBED
Whether you're in the main competition or outside of it in the sidebars, when reaction is very positive the snubs have to sting. The following films won coveted buzz but no hardware: Lee Daniel's Oscar hopeful Precious, Marco Bellochio's Vincere and Jane Campion's Bright Star.
FURTHER READING
Indie Wire live blogged the event. Time Warner Cable of New York wanted me to pay $9.95 per month for the French language station so sadly I couldn't gaze at Huppert and her fire-starter jury myself.
