The Cannes Film Festival came to an end on Saturday. There were some majorly buzzed about films at this year’s festival and a few that could be contenders for the upcoming award season. Let’s take a look at the winners of the Festival
Palme d’Or
Parasite
Director Bong Joon Ho took home the top prize of the festival with his film Parasite. The film is stated to be about an unemployed family who gets caught up in an unexpected incident. Bong Joon Ho is the first Korean director to take home the acclaimed award. This is his first win at the festival and fifth nomination since 2006 (The Host, Tokyo, Mother, and Okja have all been nominees at the festival in past years.) NEON has picked up the film for distribution and the official release date has not been announced at this time.
Grand Prix Winner
Atlantics
The second most prestigious prize of the festival went to Mati Diop’s film, Atlantics. Diop is the first black woman to ever compete for the Palme d’or. Atlantics is about a group of construction workers living in a suburb of Dakar that lies along the Atlantic coast. One night, they decide to leave the country by sea in hope of a better future. Netflix has bought the rights to distribute Atlantics.
Best Director
Jean Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne for Young Ahmed
The Dardenne Brothers have a strong history with the Cannes Film Festival, winning 5 previous awards before this year (including 2 Palme d’Or titles for Rosetta and L’Enfant.) Young Ahmed follows a Belgian boy who plans to murder his teacher in the name of religion. It certainly sounds like a disturbing film.
Best Screenplay
Celine Sciamma for Portrait of a Lady on Fire
This 18th century French costume drama is the story of a female painter, Marianne, who paints the wedding portrait of a young woman named Heloise. The two develop a very close relationship as Marianne works on the painting.
Best Actor
Antonio Banderas for Pain and Glory
Antonio Banderas is generating a lot of buzz at the festival for his performance in Pedro Almodovar’s Pain and Glory. Some say the film could get him Oscar attention this upcoming award season. Banderas plays a film director who reflects on all of the choices he’s made in life. Pain and Glory will be distributed by Sony Pictures Classics and released on October 4, 2019.
Best Actress
Emily Beecham for Little Joe
Best actress winner Emily Beecham stars as Alice, a single mother who works at a corporation that develops new species. She breaks orders and brings home a new plant species as a gift for her son, Joe.
That’s it for the Cannes Film Festival winners update! Maybe some of these films will make it to award season. We’ll just have to wait and see!