Entertainment Desk :
After being snubbed by the Academy in 2015 when his lauded (and Un Certain Regard-winning) Force Majeure did not make the nominees list in the Foreign Language Oscar category, Ruben Ostlund just walked away with the Cannes Film Festival’s highest honor.
His The Square, an art world satire that stars Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss and Dominic West, won this year’s Palme d’Or last night. Gender inequality is one that’s present on every level of the industry: from blockbuster cinema, to the glitz of the Academy Awards, to the European sophistication of the Cannes Film Festival.
Though many significant works by female directors have passed through the festival, they’re rarely rewarded during the closing prize ceremony; hopefully, that’s a fact that will change soon, with The Beguiled director Sofia Coppola landing a historic win at this year’s ceremony.
She becomes the second woman ever, in the festival’s 70-year history, to win the Best Director prize, the first being Soviet filmmaker Yuliya Solntseva in 1961 for The Chronicle of Flaming Years. When Ostlund did not get an Oscar nomination in 2015, he good-naturedly released a video that included what he called a ‘worst man cry.’ Last night, he took a different tack as he rejoiced in his Cannes win. He asked the photographers in the pit below the stage in the Lumière Theater to turn their cameras on the audience and led all attendees in a primal scream ‘of happiness.’ He said, “I can direct you now, after all I won the Palme d’Or.”
Other laureates tonight included Diane Kruger as Best Actress for her first German-language turn in Fatih Akin’s In the Fade, a timely story of the aftermath of a terrorist bombing. The actress, who works largely in French and American cinema, gave a shout-out to those affected by terrorism, particularly the folks left behind. To those ‘who have to go on living’ after losing someone, she said, “Please know you are not forgotten.”
You can find a full list of all winners below.
Palme d’Or: Ruben Östlund – The Square
Gran Prix: Robin Campillo – 120 Beats Per Minute
Jury Prize: Andrey Zvyagintsev – Loveless
Best Director: Sofia Coppola – The Beguiled
Best Actor: Joaquin Phoenix – You Were Never Really Here
Best Actress: Diane Kruger – In the Fade
Best Screenplay: Yorgos Lanthimos – The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Lynne Ramsay – You Were Never Really Here
Camera d’Or: Léonor Sérraille – Jeune Femme
Short Film Palme d’Or: Qiu Yang – A Gentle Night
Special 70th Anniversary Award: Nicole Kidman
2017 Un Certain Regard winners:
Un Certain Regard Prize: Mohammad Rasoulof – A Man of Integrity
Best Actress: Jasmine Trinca – Fortunata
Best Poetic Narrative: Mathieu Amalric – Barbara
Best Direction: Taylor Sheridan – Wind River
Jury Prize: Michel Franco – April’s Daughter
2017 International Critics Week winners:
Nespresso Grand Prize: Emmanuel Gras – Makala
France 4 Visionary Award: Fellipe Gamarano Barbosa – Gabriel and the Mountain
Leica Cine Discovery Prize for Short Film: Laura Ferrés – Los Desheredados
Gan Foundation Support for Distribution Award: Fellipe Gamarano Barbosa – Gabriel and the Mountain
SACD Award: Léa Mysius – Ava
Canal+ Award: Aleksandra Terpi?ska – The Best Fireworks
2017 Director’s Fortnight winners:
Art Cinema Award: Chloé Zhao – The Rider
SACD Award: Claire Denis – Let the Sunshine In, Philippe Garrel – Lover for a Day
Europa Cinemas Label Award: Jonas Carpignano – A Ciambra
Illy Prize for Short Film: Benoit Grimalt – Back to Genoa City.
