'I, Daniel Blake' Surprises and Wins the Palme D'Or at Cannes Film Festival 2016
"I, Daniel Blake" took home the Palme D'Or surprising most pundits and shutting out the heavily favored "Toni Erdmann."
Palm D'Or Winner
It's no surprise that the Cannes jury is unpredictable and they have shown this time and again picking the most unexpected films to receive awards. Last year Jacques Audiard beat out Lazlo Nemes for his film "Deephan." That movie received a late screening and also received a divided response.
This "I, Daniel Blake" was beloved but it was never expected to go home with the Palme D'Or. The win marks the second for director Ken Loach and he joins a select group of auteurs to have two Palme D'Or. He joins such luminaries as the Dardenne brothers and Michael Haneke. Loach last won ten years ago for his film "The Wind that Shakes the Barley."
With the Palme D'Or, "I, Daniel Blake" joins such prestigious films as "Amour," "Blue is the Warmest Color," "Deephan," "The White Ribbon" and "Taxi Driver."
Sundance selects once again has rights to the release of the film and the company is likely to release the movie later this year. The company previously released "Blue is the Warmest Color" and "Deephan."
Other Winners
The Grand Jury Prize was one of the most surprising as Xavier Dolan won for his film "It's Only the End of the World." The movie received terrible reviews when it opened and most expected it to walk away empty handed. However, the jury thought differently. It is important to remember that the jury is comprised of filmmakers and not critics and as a result their view points will always be different from critics.
The movie currently has no distribution deal but with this win expect some news soon.
Asghar Farhadi's "The Salesman" took home two awards for his new film "The Salesman." The drama took home Best Actor and Best Screenplay. It is the second time Farhadi's film walks away with an award at Cannes. His previous film, "The Past" won Best Actress.
Meanwhile Cristian Mungiu added best Director to his Cannes awards for his latest film "Graduation." The director previously won the Palme D"Or for "4 Months 3 weeks 2 Days." He also won best Screenplay for "Beyond the Hills."
Olivier Assayas also won Best Director for his polarizing "Personal Shopper." That film stars Kristen Stewart and is due out soon under Sundance Selects.
The Best Actress award when to Jaclyn Jose for "Ma' Rosa." The film, got underwhelming response, and was a huge surprise given the dominating female performances from other films like "Julieta," "Personal Shopper" and even "American Honey."
The Jury Prize went to Andrea Arnold for her film "American Honey." The director was the only woman director to win an award. A24 has rights to the film and is expected to release in the fall in time for awards season.
Biggest Losers
Amogn the films shut out included "Aquarius," "Loving," "Paterson," "Toni Erdmann," Staying Vertical" and "Sieranevada." Pedro Almodovar once again went home empty handed for his work on "Julieta" and the Dardenne brothers also went home with no award for "The Unknown Girl."