It is a hectic fence ceremony that the Cannes Film Festival yesterday experienced. Indeed, while everything was going very well and everyone congratulated themselves for the festival holding in very good conditions, and that the mistress of ceremonies, Doria Tillier, followed the common thread of the evening, when he had to announce the first prize, in this case that of better male interpretation, Spike Lee the president of the jury, was wrong and revealed the title of the film. A small scraper that actor Tahar Rahim, himself a member of the jury, tried to catch up with more or less success.
We came close to the disaster and a somewhat premature announcement of the Palme d’Or 😱 #Cannes2021 pic.twitter.com/8ubfyl2ori
– Canal+ (@canalplus) July 17, 2021
But it is above all the record that created the big surprise of the evening: it is indeed the very controversial film Titanium Directed by Julia Ducournau, who won the Palme d’Or.
Very moved, the director said by receiving her trophy from the hands of Sharon Stone: ” I know my film is not perfect. It is even said to mine that he is monstrous. For me, perfection is a dead end. But thank you to the jury for recognizing our visceral need for a more inclusive and fluid world. Thank you for letting the monsters enter ”.
This is the second time that the Palme d’Or has been awarded a woman director, after Jane Campion for The piano lesson in 1993, in ex aequo with Goodbye my concubine by Chen Kaige. Which is in itself a feat, especially knowing that on the 24 films in official competition, only four were made by women.
During the press conference which followed the ceremony, the question of whether during the debates, the fact that it was an important director, Spike Lee replied: “Look at the jury, there is a very great female representation, so the answer is there. I saw a lot of films in my life, but it is the first film where a Cadillac puts a pregnant woman. I wonder what Cadillac it is?! But it seemed extraordinary to me, it was genius and madness together. These two things together correspond well ”.
However Jessica Hausner said: “I would like to add that during our discussions, whether you believe it or not, we have never mentioned the fact that the director is a woman. It was the film on which we agreed. It is only after we said yes, that in addition that it is a woman made us even happier ”.
Commenting on the record, Spike Lee said: “We have all contributed to this result. We saw 24 films in 10 days, it was difficult, but we are here because we love cinema. It is a great honor for us to be a jury, especially after this pandemic period of the COVIR 19. It is historic. It’s a 74th Historical Cannes Film Festival ”.
This 74th edition is indeed historical in many ways. For the first time, the president of the jury is black, it is also the first time that the Palme d’Or has been awarded a director alone and also the very first time to a French. Without forgetting that she is young (37 years old) and that it is her second feature film after Severe Released in 2016.
The prize list:
Palm of gold :: Titaniumfrom Julia Ducournau;
Grand Prix: A hero of Asghar Farhadi, ex aequo with Compartment n ° 6 of Juho Kuosmanen;
Scenario price: Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe for Drive My Car;
Staging price: Leos Carax for Annette;
Male interpretation price: Caleb Landry Jones for Nitram;
Female interpretation price: Renate Reinsve for Julie (in 12 chapters);
Jury prices: Ahed’s knee of Nadav Lapid, ex aequo with Memoria of Apichatpong Weerasethakul;
Palme d’Or of Honor: Marco Bellocchio;
Golden palm of the short film: All the crows of the world of tang yi;
Golden Camera: Murina from Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic.
In closing film of the 74th Cannes Film Festival: OSS 117, red alert in black Africathe third part of the adventures of Hubert Bath of the Bath, was screened at festival -goers at the end of the chart ceremony in the presence of director Nicolas Bedos, actors Jean Dujardin and Pierre Niney and the whole film team.
See you from May 10 to 21, 2022 for the 75th Cannes Film Festival!
Neïla Driss
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