Phillip Nakov
May 24, 2009 – Cannes, France
In a short, yet to the point closing ceremony from the Palais des Festivals in Cannes this evening, the jury awarded the top prizes to the films in competition at the close of the 62nd Annual Cannes Film Festival. All of the awards were delivered in a telecast that ran just about an hour and without commercials. The Oscars could learn a thing or two about keeping award ceremonies brief.
Also unlike the Oscars in the US which states ‘the award goes to…’ instead of the winner is… they still say ‘the winner of the Palme d’Or is…’ I think a win is a win, regardless of how it is cloaked in a feel-good euphemism.
The first prize of the evening was given to a young 21 year old film maker, Joao Salvaviza, for his short film “Arian”. He looked decidedly surprised that he had won and his bow tie was almost completely hanging on its side as he climbed the stage to receive his award. He dedicated the prize to all the youth who are making movies.
The next prize, the Camera d’Or (The Golden Camera) is a special prize given out by the jury for a film at the festival. This prize went to the film Samson and Deliliah by Warwick Thornton. He was moved and could not say much more than, “Vive Cannes and Vive le Cinema.” To which the audience wildly applauded.
The Jury Prize was a tie and was given to: “Fish Tank,” by Andrea Arnold (Britain) and “Thirst,” By Chan-wook Park (South Korea). They both gave short acceptance speeches and were all smiles. She shared the award with South Korean director Chan-wook Park, whose film Thirst is an erotic horror about a priest who becomes a vampire after a botched medical experiment. He too has form at the festival, scooping the Grand Prix in 2003 for Oldboy.
Austrian actor Christoph Waltz – in perhaps the biggest shock of the ceremony. Though many agreed he stole the show as sadistic SS Colonel Hans Landa in Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Inglourious Basterds,’ no one imagined the jury would award a film that many thought was the biggest disappointment.
Though the movie was shut out of the major prizes, ‘Antichrist‘ did not leave empty handed: Dafoe’s co-star Charlotte Gainsbourg won best actress for her role as a grieving mother. The scene in which she performs a clitoridectomy on herself was for many the enduring image of this year’s festival. One wonders if the more outrageous the performance on screen will ultimately just win the actor’s prizes. ‘Antichrist‘ by Lara Van Trier, who was not at the Closing Ceremony, was panned as one of the worst films in the festival.
The full list of winners follows. You can log on to http://festival-cannes.com/en.html to watch the press conference and photo call following the closing ceremony festivities in Cannes.
- Palme d’Or (Golden Palm): “The White Ribbon,” by Michael Haneke (Austria)
- Grand Prize: “A Prophet,” by Jacques Audiard (France)
- Jury Prize: “Fish Tank,” by Andrea Arnold (Britain) and “Thirst,” By Park Chan-wook (South Korea).
- Special Prize: Alain Resnais
- Best Director: Brillante Mendoza, “Kinatay” (The Philippines)
- Best Actor: Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds” (United States)
- Best Actress: Charlotte Gainsbourg, “Antichrist” (Denmark)
- Best Screenplay: Feng Mei, “Spring Fever” (China)
- Camera d’Or (first-time director): “Samson and Delilah,” by Warwick Thornton (Australia)
- Best short film: “Arena,” by Joao Salaviza (Portugal)
So Michael Haneke takes home the Palme d’Or at the 62nd Cannes film festival for his well-received though not the leading contender, ‘The White Ribbon.’ Though highly acclaimed, there had been a feeling it might fall victim to Haneke’s close relationship with jury president Isabelle Huppert, who has starred in two of his most recent films. It seems that the accusations of favouritism were evidently felt to be less pressing than the need to reward the film’s standout brilliance.
And that wraps it up for us and the whole MovieSet.com crew from here in the south of France. It has been a terrific, fast-paced and exciting two weeks. We’ve seen so many great movies, some not so great and some that we just wondered how they ever got made. There is no other festival like it in the world. We thank the Festival de Cannes press accreditation committee for welcoming MovieSet.com so graciously at this year’s festival. We hope you have enjoyed our coverage of the 62nd Annual Festival de Cannes (Cannes Film Festival) as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you. The response has been tremendous from around the world and so till next year, au revoir from the Croisette here in Cannes and I’ll see you in line at the concession stand!
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