Cannes Film Festival 2015 Awards: 'Dheepan' Wins Palme D'Or; Colombia and Mexico Win Big
The Cannes Film Festival has concluded with one of the most shocking awards ceremonies in years.
"Dheepan," the film by Jacques Audiard, won the Palme d'Or, surprising most audience members and the press. The film opened to mixed reviews worldwide and was not received as well as Audiard's previous films, which include "Rust and Bone" and "A Prophet." Those films were presented at the Cannes Film Festival and scored rave reviews.
"Dheepan" will be released in the U.S. by IFC Films, who acquired the film months before Cannes and now looks like it could represent at the Oscars. The film was one of the five French movies that competed at Cannes and the one that now looks like it can represent France at the Academy Awards this year. The Palme d'Or does not always signify Oscar glory but a number of other foreign films have gone on to get nominated in the foreign film category. These films include "Amour," "The Class" and "The White Ribbon." The films "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" and "Winter Sleep" represented their respective countries after winning the Palme d'Or. However, they did not get nominated.
The Grand Prix award went to the Cannes favorite "Son of Saul." The Hungarian film was the front-runner at Cannes from the start of the festival. While it took second place, the film looks destined to be a huge awards player especially after Sony Pictures Classics picked it up.
The Jury award, which is considered the Bronze award, went to "The Lobster." The movie was also a favorite for the Palme d'Or but many criticized it for its third act and for being extremely eccentric. The film was directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and stars Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz and John C. Reilly.
The Best Director award went to Hou Hsiao-Hsien for his film "The Assassin." The movie was also a favorite to win the Palme d'Or as it was hailed as a turning point in the martial arts genre and was also among the few films that were well received at the festival.
Latin America was well represented as Mexico's Michel Franco won the Best Screenplay award for his film "Chronic." Hailed for Tim Roth's performance, the movie was criticized for its surprising and unsatisfying and ending. The award was a big surprise especially since most believed Roth would win in the Best Actor category.
The Camera d'Or went to Colombia for the film "La Tierra y la Sombra." The film was directed by Cesar Acevedo and also took home a prize at the Critics Week sidebar, in which the film screened.
Cate Blanchett was overlooked in the Best Actress category as her co-star Rooney Mara took home the Best Actress for her subtle turn in "Carol." Mara shared the award with Emmanuelle Bercot, who won for her film "Mon Roi." While "Carol" was widely acclaimed, "Mon Roi" was universally panned.
Vincent Lindon won the award for Best Actor for his work on "The Measure of a Man." The performance was widely hailed and was the front-runner for Best Actor from the beginning.
The competition slate saw 19 films compete and was widely criticized for being underwhelming. Among the films that went home empty-handed included "Marguerite & Julien," "Tale of Tales," "Mountains May Depart," "Our Little Sister," "Macbeth," "Mia Madre," "Valley of Love," "Youth," "Sicario," "Louder than Bombs" and "The Sea of Trees."
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