The film from the French director starring Antonythasan Jesuthasan and Kalieaswari Srinivasan wins Palme 'Or at the 68th annual Cannes Film Festival.
- May 25, 2015
AceShowbiz - French director Jacques Audiard won the grand prize of the Palme d'Or at the 68th annual Cannes Film Festival on Sunday, May 24. He scooped the prize for his drama about a makeshift family of Sri Lankan refugees in Paris, "Deephan".
The helmer thanked his screenwriters Thomas Bidegain in his acceptance speech. He also said, "Thank you, Michael Haneke, for not making a film this year." The sentence was addressed to the Austrian director who had beaten him twice for the Palme in 2009 ("A Prophet") and 2012 ("Rust and Bone").
"Deephan" reportedly received less enthusiastic reaction compared to "A Prophet" and "Rust and Bone". However, jury co-presidents Joel and Ethan Coen noted the jury's "enthusiasm" for the film at a press conference following the ceremony. "We all thought it was a beautiful movie," Ethan Coen said. Joel Coen added, "This isn't a jury of film critics. This is a jury of artists looking at the work." Audiard received the price on stage with his lead actors, Antonythasan Jesuthasan and Kalieaswari Srinivasan.
"Son of Saul", a Holocaust drama from a Hungarian filmmaker Laszlo Nemes, got a Fipresci prize as it received strong reviews, pro and con. The film was acquired during Cannes by Sony Classics for North American release.
Rooney Mara shared the Best Actress prize with Emmanuelle Berco for their respective role in "Carol" and "Mon Roi". Besides, Vincent Lindon won the Best Actor prize for Stephane Brizee's social drama "The Measure of a Man".
Meanwhile, Mexican writer-director Michel Franco received the Best Screenplay prize for "Chronic", an English-language film starring Tim Roth.
COMPETITION
- Palme d'Or: "Dheepan" (Jacques Audiard, France)
- Grand Prix: "Son of Saul" (Laszlo Nemes, Hungary)
- Director: Hou Hsiao-hsien, "The Assassin" (Taiwan)
- Actor: Vincent Lindon, "The Measure of a Man" (France)
- Actress (tie): Emmanuelle Bercot, "Mon roi" (France), and Rooney Mara, "Carol" (U.K.)
- Jury Prize: Yorgos Lanthimos, "The Lobster" (Greece-Ireland-U.K.-Netherlands-France)
- Screenplay: Michel Franco, "Chronic" (Mexico-France)
- Palme d'Honneur: Agnes Varda
- Camera d'Or: "Land and Shade" (Cesar Augusto Acevedo, Colombia)
- Short Films Palme d'Or: "Waves '98" (Ely Dagher)
- Ecumenical Jury Prize: "My Mother" (Nanni Moretti)
- Un Certain Regard Prize: "Rams" (Grimur Hakonarson, Iceland-Denmark)
- Jury prize: "The High Sun" (Dalibor Matanic, Croatia-Slovenia-Serbia)
- Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa, "Journey to the Shore" (Japan-France)
- Un Certain Talent Prize: Corneliu Porumboiu, "The Treasure" (Romania)
- Special Prize for Promising Futures (tie): "Nahid" (Ida Panahandeh, Iran) and "Masaan" (Neeraj Ghaywan, France-India)
- Art Cinema Award: "The Embrace of the Serpent" (Ciro Guerra, Colombia)
- Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers Prize: "My Golden Days" (Arnaud Desplechin, France)
- Europa Cinemas Label: "Mustang" (Deniz Gamze Erguven, France-Turkey-Germany)
- Grand Prize: "Paulina" (Santiago Mitre, Argentina-Brazil-France)
- Visionary Prize: "Land and Shade"
- Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers Prize: "Land and Shade"
