67th Cannes Film Festival WINNERS

The Cannes jury, led by president Jane Campion, has spoken and Turkey’s Winter Sleep, directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, has won the coveted Palme d’Or. Up the very last minute it was a nail-biter, with the Dardennes Two Days, One Night and Naomi Kawase’s Still the Water also in the running. The Dardennes, previous two-time winners of the Palme were not present at the ceremony. Naomi Kawase, who last week said she wants nothing but the Palme, was invited but ceremoniously snubbed across the board.

Canadian Wunderkind Xavier Dolan’s first In Competition film, Mommy, won the Prix du Jury in a tie with Godard’s Goodbye to Language 3D. Dolan gave an impassioned speech including a direct thank you to Campion for her Palme d’Or winner, The Piano, which inspired him to make films and write strong women. Godard was unsurprisingly not present.

As many predicted, Timothy Spall won Best Actor for Mike Leigh’s Mr. Turner. What started as a sweet speech that he read from his phone turned into a 10-minute bore that even elicited an eyeroll from presenter Monica Bellucci. Julianne Moore surprisingly took the Best Actress award for David Cronenberg’s Maps to the Stars. She was not present but this win completes the festival trifecta for her (which also included Berlin and Venice). The U.S. was also represented in the Best Director category with Foxcatcher‘s Bennett Miller winning. That boosts the already Oscar-buzzed film into the top 5.

The Russian film Leviathan won Best Screenplay and the Grand Jury prize went to Alice Rohrbacher’s The Wonders. The Camera d’Or, the award for a first film, went to Party Girl.

Palme d’Or: Winter Sleep, Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Grand Prix: The Wonders
Prix du Jury (tie): Mommy and Goodbye to Language 3D
Director: Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher
Actor: Timothy Spall, Mr. Turner
Actress: Julianne Moore, Maps to the Stars
Screenplay: Leviathan
Camera d’Or: Party Girl