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Jafar Panahi with his Palme d'Or for A Simple Accident
Photo: Courtesy of Cannes Film Festival
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Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi returned to the Cannes Film Festival Competition with It Was Just An Accident, and carried off the ultimate accolade the Palme d’Or at the Festival’s closing ceremony seven years after Three Faces earned him the Award for Best Screenplay.
Cate Blanchett presented the award for his fanciful tale which questions the meaning of freedom in Iran, a common theme in his work. He was surrounded by his team for an emotional conclusion to the evening. Earlier in the day and, perhaps, a portent of glory to come, It Was Just An Accident was given the 7th Citizenship Prize by a jury comprised of Isabelle Chenu, journalist, Muriel Coulin, filmmaker and director of photography, Delphine Coulin, filmmaker, screenwriter, and writer, Lionel Baier, Swiss filmmaker and producer, and Lucas Belvaux, Franco-Belgian filmmaker, actor, and novelist. The jury praised Panahi’s "ability to challenge our understanding of freedom, justice, and free will. We were particularly impressed by the director's use of cinema to make It Was Just An Accident a reflection on individual responsibility, courage, and the need to end the cycle of violence."
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Scene from Palme d’Or winner A Simple Accident by Jafar Panahi
Photo: Courtesy of Cannes Film Festival
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The runner-up award, the Grand Prix, was given to Joachim Trier’s much favoured family drama Sentimental Value for which the Norwegian filmmaker, in Competition for the third time, generously awarded it to his whole entourage.
The Jury Prize, was shared by two dark and ambitious films, Spanish director Oliver Laxe’s raucous road trip film Sirat and German director Mascha Schilinski’s Sound Of Falling, a saga spanning a century.
Wagner Moura won the Best Actor award for his performance as a dissident on the run in Kleber Mendonca Filho’s Brazilian drama The Secret Agent, while Best Actress award went to newcomer Nadia Melliti for Hafsia Herzi’s The Little Sister.
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Grand Prix winner Joachim Trier
Photo: Courtesy of Cannes Film Festival
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Mendonca Filho also won the directing award for The Secret Agent, while the Dardenne brothers won the screenplay award for Young Mothers and promptly thanked the five young actresses “without whom there would not have been a film.”
A special award went to Resurrection, by Chinese director Bi Gan for a post-apocalyptic drama in which a woman brings an android back to life by recounting the history of China. Bi Gan came onto the scene in 2015 with his first feature film Kaili Blues, universally acclaimed for its captivating aesthetic. He has since established himself as a major player in shaping and defining the new generation of Chinese arthouse cinema.
The Camera d’Or, which goes to the best first film from any section of the festival, was bestowed on Hasan Hadi for The President’s Cake, the first Iraqi film to win an award in Cannes. It had already won the audience award in the Directors’ Fortnight.
The winners have been chosen by a jury headed by French actress Juliette Binoche. Other jurors included American actors Halle Berry and Jeremy Strong, Indian director Payal Kapadia, Italian actress Alba Rohrwacher, French-Moroccan writer Leila Slimani, Congolese director Dieudo Hamadi, Korean director Hong Sangsoo and Mexican director Carlos Reygadas.
The Secret Agent also won the Fipresci Prize from the International Federation of Film Critics. The critics also rewarded Urchin by Harris Dickinson in Un Certain Regard and Dandelion’s Odyssey by Momoko Seto in Critics’ Week.
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Wagner Moura won the Best Actor prize for The Secret Agent
Photo: Courtesy of Cannes Film Festival
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It was a 78th edition that passed off without major controversies or dramas (apart from the power outage that threatened tonight’s closing ceremony). Power was restored in the nick of time and we were assured that, in any case, the Palais des Festivals had its own independent generating facility so the ceremony would have been able to go ahead come what may.
Earlier in the Festival honorary Palme d’Ors were being dished out right, left and centre, some planned (Robert De Niro and Tom Cruise) while others seemed far more impromptu (Denzel Washington).
A host of filmmakers and other signatories put their names to a letter condemning “the genocide taking place in Gaza” while Ukraine was represented by director Sergei Loznitsa and his highly regarded film Two Prosecutors.
On the red carpet fashion stakes there was a flurry of consternation when two days before opening night the festival organisers issued new protocols regarding a dress code for the tapis rouge, including restrictions on nudity and voluminous gowns sending some participants back to their fashion houses for a rethink, including jury member Hale Berry.
The warning was clear: “The Festival welcoming teams will be obligated to prohibit red carpet access to anyone not respecting these rules.” The move was seen as a device to dial down on the glitz and dial up the serious bona fides of the event. It was also seen as a way of promoting the Festival’s feminist credentials - women should not be viewed as decorations - in a year when there were more female directors in Competition than previously.
The full list of awards
- Palme d’Or - It Was Just An Accident by Jafar Panahi
- Special Prize - Resurrection by Bi Gan
- Grand Prix - Sentimental Value by Joachim Trier
- Best Director - Kleber Mendonça Filho for The Secret Agent
- Jury Prize (Shared) - Oliver Laxe for Sirat and Mascha Schilinski for Sound Of Falling
- Best Actress - Nadia Melliti for The Little Sister by Hafsia Herzi
- Best Actor - Wagner Moura for The Secret Agent
- Best Screenplay - Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne for Young Mothers
- Camera d’Or - Hasan Hadi for The President’s Cake
