The 72nd Cannes Film Festival concluded with a closing ceremony at the Grand Théâtre Lumière. The festival wrapped up with one of the best received competition selections in the recent history. The Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or was scooped up by Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho’s powerful dramedy Parasite. The film is about the collision of two families from very different classes. This was Bong’s first major prize at the festival. But it was not a surprise considering how well the movie was received and the momentum it enjoyed. Here is a full list of winners:
Palme d’Or
Parasite, dir: Bong Joon-ho
Grand Prize
Atlantics, dir: Mati Diop
Best Actor
Antonio Banderas; Pain And Glory
Jury Prize (TIE)
Les Misérables, dir: Ladj Ly
Bacurau, dirs: Kleber Mendonça Filho, Juliano Dornelles
Best Director(s)
Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, The Young Ahmed
Best Actress
Emily Beecham, Little Joe
Best Screenplay
Céline Sciamma, Portrait Of A Lady On Fire
Special Mention
It Must Be Heaven, dir: Elia Suleiman
Camera d’Or
Our Mothers, dir: Cesar Diaz
Short Film Palme d’Or
The Distance Between Us And The Sky, dir: Vasilis Kekatos
Special Mention: Monster God, dir: Agustina San Martin
In his speech at the stage inside the Lumière, Bong told the French audience that one of his inspirations has been Claude Chabrol. Conferring Palme d’Or, Jury President Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu said the panel had watched films from iconic directors and veterans who mixed genres, while adding that in “the time we live today, democracy is losing itself.” This jury, he said, “was totally democratic” and the decision to award Parasite was “unanimous.” The overall prizes too followed expectation although there was no accolade for Quentin Tarantino’s Leonardo DiCaprio and Bradd Pitt starrer Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Perhaps it showed the jury’s swat towards contemporary stories plaguing the world at the moment.