Sweden’s Ruben Östlund has won the top prize on the Côte d’Azur; Robin Campillo, Diane Kruger, Lynne Ramsay and Yorgos Lanthimos also among the winners.
All bets were off on the Croisette – and in the end it was cinematic exigency and intelligence that were the guiding principles for the jury chaired by Pedro Almodóvar, as the Palme d’Or at the 70th Cannes Film Festival was handed to The Square by Swedish director Ruben Östlund. This was a perfect outcome for the filmmaker, who was taking part in the competition for the first time after having trodden the Croisette three times in the past (in Un Certain Regard with Force Majeure in 2014 and Involuntary in 2008, and in the Directors’ Fortnight with Play in 2011). Östlund thus becomes the second filmmaker from his country to win the Palme d’Or (following in the footsteps of Alf Sjöberg in 1951) with this movie produced by Sweden, and co-produced by Germany, France, Denmark and the United States.
European cinema largely dominated the winners’ list at this 2017 edition, with the Grand Prix going to the enthralling BPM (Beats Per Minute) by French director Robin Campillo, the Best Actress Award being handed to Germany’s Diane Kruger for her moving performance in In the Fade by her fellow countryman Fatih Akin, and two awards being pocketed by You Were Never Really Here by Scotland’s Lynne Ramsay (produced by France with the UK and the USA): the Best Actor Award went to the USA’s Joaquin Phoenix and the director won the Best Screenplay Award ex-aequo. The latter was shared with Greece’s Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou for the Irish production The Killing of a Sacred Deer, directed by Lanthimos himself. European film production was also honoured with the Jury Prize obtained by Loveless by Russia’s Andrey Zvyagintsev (co-produced by France, Belgium, Germany and Russia).
The United States took home a second accolade in the guise of the Best Director Award for Sofia Coppola for The Beguiled, while a 70th Anniversary Prize went to Australia’s Nicole Kidman, who was among the cast of two films in competition (The Killing of a Sacred Deer and The Beguiled).
Here is the complete list of winners:
Palme d’Or
The Square – Ruben Östlund (Sweden/Germany/France/Denmark/United States)
Grand Prix
BPM (Beats Per Minute) – Robin Campillo (France)
Best Director
Sofia Coppola – The Beguiled
Best Actress
Diane Kruger – In The Fade (Germany/France)
Best Actor
Joaquin Phoenix – You Were Never Really Here (France/United Kingdom/United States)
Best Screenplay (ex-aequo)
Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthymis Filippou – The Killing of a Sacred Deer (Ireland/United Kingdom/United States)
Lynne Ramsay – You Were Never Really Here
Jury Prize
Loveless – Andrey Zvyagintsev (Russia/France/Germany/Belgium)
70th Anniversary Prize
Nicole Kidman
Caméra d’Or
Montparnasse Bienvenüe – Léonor Serraille (France)
Palme d’Or for Best Short Film
A Gentle Night – Qiu Yang (China)
Special Mention
Katto – Teppo Airaksinen (Finland)
By: Cineuropa.org
