Swede Ruben Östlund won a second Palme d’Or at Cannes on Saturday with the comedy “Without filter”, acid satire of the ultra-rich and class relations in Western societies. The Swedish director thus won the Cannes festival selection for the second time. Already palmed in 2017 for “The Square” Ruben Östlund achieves the double with “Sans Filtre”, a punk cross between “Titanic” and “La Grande Bouffe” and acid satire of the ultra-rich which made the Croisette explode with laughter.
“It’s a bit like being at home”, joked the Swede while climbing the steps, with one of his actresses, the Filipina Dolly De Leon. Euphoric on the stage of the Grand Théâtre Lumière, the Swede with a scathing humor joined, at 48, the very closed club of webbed doubles, including the Dardenne brothers and Ken Loach.
The Grand Prix, the second most prestigious distinction, was awarded ex aequo to the French Claire Denis for “Stars at noon” and to the Belgian Lukas Dhont, the youngest of the competitionfor “Close”.
The full list:
Golden Camera: “War Pony”, by Riley Keough and Gina Gammell. This is a film about the intertwined destinies of two boys living on a Native American reservation. Presented at Un Certain regard, this first film is signed by Gina Gammel and Riley Kough, the granddaughter of Elvis Presley. “War Pony” follows the fate of 23-year-old Bill, struggling to make ends meet, and 12-year-old Matho, eager to become a man, living in an underprivileged neighborhood in South Dakota.
Palme d’Or for short film: “The Waters Murmurs”, by the Chinese Jianying Chen. And a special mention went to “Lori” from Nepalese Abinash Bikram Shah uit Nepal
Best Actress Award: Zar Amir Ebrahimi starring in the movie “The Nights of Mashhad” (Holy Spider). Iranian actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi, who had to leave Iran for France in 2008 following a sex scandal, was crowned the Best Actress award on Saturday for her role in Ali Abbasi’s thriller ” Nights of Mashhad”. The actress spoke in Farsi while receiving her award. “Tonight I have the feeling that I had a very long journey before arriving here on this stage (…) a journey marked by humiliations”she said, thanking France for hosting her.
Script price: Tarik Saleh pour “Boy from heaven”.
Best Actor Award: Song Kang-ho for his role in “The Good Stars” (Broker). Favorite actor of his compatriot Bong Joon-ho, and star of his film “Parasite”, Palme d’Or 2019, the 55-year-old South Korean actor plays in this Kore-eda film a man involved in baby trafficking , who will form a small family of odds and ends around him.
Jury Prize: the Belgians Charlotte Vandermeersch et Felix van Groeningen (“Les huit montagnes”) avec Jerzy Skolimowski and “I’m Going”.
“We would like to thank the festival for giving our film such a huge podium. And also the members of the jury. Wow! The jury prize is very beautiful! Thank you very much”reacted Charlotte Vandermeersch on stage. “We wanted to make a film that talks about life in all its fragility and strength. All these mountains to cross”explained the actress and director. “It was something a bit crazy. We are Belgian. We shot in Italy, with Italian actors. We learned Italian, it was an exceptional trip (…) It was a fantastic cooperation between Belgium, Italy and France”for his part underlined Felix van Groeningen on stage.
“Special” prize of the 75th Cannes Film Festival: Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne for “Tori et Lokita”. With this ninth feature film presented in competition, the filmmakers deliver a poignant account of clandestinity, plunging into the story of two young exiles with an unbreakable bond, who have come to settle in Belgium.
“When we were preparing our film, in January 2021, a baker from Besançon went on a hunger strike for 12 days so that his apprentice, who was from Guinea, would not be expelled from France. It’s wonderful. Our film we dedicate it to this gentleman”declared Luc Dardenne on stage, after the thanks to the jury made by his brother Jean-Pierre
Staging price: Park Chan-wook pour “Decision to Leave”.
The big price: “Close” du Belgian Lukas Dhondt tied with “Stars At Noon” by Frenchwoman Claire Denis. With “Close”, the young Belgian prodigy signs a film about friendship and responsibility. The feature film dives into the story of Léo and Rémi, 13 years old, lifelong friends until an unthinkable event separates them.
“I am very moved. Thank you to the jury. Thank you to the Cannes Film Festival. Thank you to my brother who was there from the start. We have been making films together since the age of 12”said Lukas Dhont on stage. “I would like to thank my father, Dirk, Angelo, Seal, Davy, all my team, actors and technicians, who invested their heart and soul in this film. (…) And above all, thank you to my mother, mom, for showing me the incredible impact that cinema can have. I am here because of you, because you have helped me find my voice to connect with others, through films and stories. ”
Palme d’Or : Ruben Östlund pour “Sans filtre” (“Triangle of Sadness”).