Cannes: Gaspar Noé’s ‘Climax’ Wins Top Director’s Fortnight Prize
No one was more surprised than director Gaspar Noé himself when his new film, Climax, was met was near universal raves when it debuted in the Director’s Fortnight section of the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. So ready to be hated and vilified, the poster for the film even says “You Despised I Stand Alone. You Hated Irreversible. You Loathed Enter the Voice. You Cursed Love. Now Try CLIMAX.”
Well, we did and now it’s won the top prize from the festival section, the Art Cinema Award. The film is about a dance troop who inadvertently all drink some LSD-spiked sangria (called by some ‘Step Up on acid’) and devolve into an orgy of debauchery. Climax was picked up by A24 for US distribution.
Here is the full list of winners from the 2018 Cannes Director’s Fortnight.
ART CINEMA AWARD
“Climax,” (Gaspar Noé, France, Belgium)
EUROPA CINEMAS LABEL
“Lucia’s Grace (Gianni Zanasi, Italy)
SACD PRIZE
“The Trouble With You,” (Pierre Salvadori, France)
ILLY SHORT FILM AWARD
“Skip Day,” (Patrick Bresnan, Ivete Lucas)
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