Cannes Film Festival: Throwback to the 76th Edition

And that’s a wrap for the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival. The closing ceremony, presided over by director Ruben Östlund, announced its winners among the 21 films presented in the official competition this year. Two French films made it to the winners’ list.

The closing ceremony of the 76th Cannes Film Festival took place on Saturday, May 27, and was broadcasted on France 2. It was hosted by Chiara Mastroianni.

The jury, chaired by director Ruben Östlund and comprised of director Maryam Touzani, actor Denis Ménochet, screenwriter and director Rungano Nyoni, actress and director Brie Larson, actor and director Paul Dano, writer Atiq Rahimi, director Damián Szifron, and director Julia Ducournau, announced its winners among the 21 films presented in the official competition this year.

The Palme d’Or went to “Anatomie d’une chute” (Anatomy of a Fall), which was presented on Sunday, May 21. Justine Triet directs the story of Sandra, accused of her husband’s murder, who died a year earlier in their isolated mountain home. Their visually impaired son witnesses the trial, where he sees his parents’ relationship dissected in public.

Justine Triet is the third woman (and the second French woman!) to receive a Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Jane Campion won it in 1993 for “The Piano,” tied with director Chen Kaige, and Julia Ducournau, a member of this year’s jury, won it in 2021 for “Titane.”

The Palme d’Or was presented by the iconic actress Jane Fonda, a fervent feminist activist.

The Cannes Film Festival was honored by the exceptional presence of legendary filmmaker Roger Corman on Saturday, May 27, who presented the Grand Prix alongside virtuoso Quentin Tarantino.

Jonathan Glazer won the Grand Prix for his film “The Zone of Interest.” This was the first time the British director had been selected at Cannes.

“The Zone of Interest” tells the complicated love story between a Nazi officer and the wife of an Auschwitz extermination camp commander. The film, now a Palme d’Or recipient, was presented on Friday, May 19.

Pete Docter, the creative director of Pixar Studios, presented the Best Director award to Tran Anh Hung for “La Passion de Dodin Bouffant.” This film stars Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel in the kitchen. The director, Tran Anh Hung, chose them because they were a couple in real life and he wanted an intimacy on screen.

Tran Anh Hung had previously received the Caméra d’Or in 1993 for a film selected in the Un Certain Regard category.

Aki Kaurismäki took home the Jury Prize for “Les Feuilles Mortes” (The Dead Leaves). In this film, two lonely individuals, played by Alma Pöysti and Jussi Vatanen, meet in Helsinki and decide to experience their first and last love together. Aki Kaurismäki had previously won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival in 2002 for “The Man Without a Past.”