21/05/2005

Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne have just entered the legend of the Cannes Film Festival : tonight, they received their second Golden Palm —after their success with Rosetta in 1999— for The Child. This fantastic result allows them to join the circle of ‘happy few’ who have prevailed twice in Cannes, a small circle which includes the president of this 58th Cannes film Festival, Emir Kusturica. This victory is also the victory of self-produced films, for the Dardenne brothers are not only directors but also producers through their company Les Films du Fleuve.

This year’s results also sanction the international work of French production ; indeed, on seven awards, five of them went to local (co)productions —the other two being Broken Flowers, by Jim Jarmusch (Best Prize) and Shanghai Dreams, by the Chinese director Wang Xiaoshuai (Jury’s Prize). French producers are everywhere this year : EuropaCorp can boast two awards with The Three Burials… (Best Script and Best Actor, granted to Tommy Lee Jones) ; as far as Les Films du Losange are concerned, they produced Hidden, by Michael Haneke (who must nevertheless be slightly disappointed) ; Agat Films have good reasons to rejoice, for Amos Gitaï’s Free Zone earned Hanna Laslo a prize as Best Actress ; finally, Archipel 35 co-produced the big winner, the Dardenne brothers’ film.
These results show that French production diversifies and reaches further and further, proving that a country’s presence on the international scene is not proportional to its size, a truth epitomised by the fact that it is Belgium which brings the Golden Palm back on the Old Continent after two American victories in a row.

The Awards

Palme d´Or
L'enfant by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne

The Grand Prix of the Jury
Broken Flowers by Jim Jarmush

Best Actress
Hanna Laslo (Free Zone)

Best Actor
Tommy Lee Jones (The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada)

Best Director
Michael Haneke (Caché)

Best Screenplay
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada by Tommy Lee Jones

Prix of the Jury
Shangai Dreams by Wang Xiaoshuai

Prix de la Caméra d´Or
Me and You and Everybody We Know by Miranda July and Sulanga Enu Pinisa by Vimukthi Jayasundara

Palme d´Or for the Best Short Film
Podorozhni (Wayfarers) by Igor Strembitskyy

Jury Prize - Short Film
Clara by Van Sowerwine

(Translated from French)