Iranian director Jafar Panahi wins Cannes top prize for 'It Was Just An Accident'
Revenge thriller "It Was Just An Accident" by Iranian director Jafar Panahi, who was last at the Cannes Film Festival in person more than 20 years ago, won the Palme d'Or top prize on Saturday. Panahi, who has been arrested several times for his filmmaking and was under a travel ban until recently, last attended the festival in person in 2003, when Crimson Gold was screened in the Un Certain Regard category. With the Palme d'Or, Panahi now has the rare honour of winning the top prize at all three major European film festivals, after nabbing Berlin's Golden Bear for "Taxi" in 2015 and the Golden Lion at Venice for "The Circle" in 2000.
The jury prize was split between the intergenerational family drama "Sound of Falling" from German director Mascha Schilinski and Sirat, about a father and son who head into the Moroccan desert, by French-Spanish director Oliver Laxe. Brazil's The Secret Agent won two awards, one for best actor for Wagner Moura, as well as best director for Kleber Mendonca Filho. "I was having Champagne," said Mendonca Filho after he ran up to the stage to collect his award after celebrating Moura, who previously made a name for himself in hit TV series Narcos.
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Newcomer Nadia Melliti took home best actress for The Little Sister, a queer coming-of-age story centred around the daughter of Algerian immigrants in Paris. Belgium's Dardenne brothers, who have the rare honour of already having won two Palme d'Or prizes, took home the award for best screenplay for their film Young Mothers.
Saturday's closing ceremony went off without a hitch after the Cannes area was hit by a power outage for several hours. The Palais des Festival venue had to switch to an independent power supply during that time to ensure all scheduled events and screenings could take place. Twenty-two films in total were competing for the prize at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, with entries from well-known directors Richard Linklater, Wes Anderson and Ari Aster.
Outside the competition, director Spike Lee brought Highest 2 Lowest, starring Denzel Washington, to the festival, while Tom Cruise was in town for what could be his final Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning. Washington, who was only briefly at the festival due to obligations to Broadway show Othello, received a surprise honorary Palme d'Or on Monday night in recognition of his outstanding career. Robert De Niro also received an honorary Palme d'Or, which was previously announced, during the opening ceremony on May 13.
A full list of winners follows:
Palme d'Or
Jafar Panahi for "It Was Just an Accident"
Grand Prix
Joachim Trier for "Sentimental Value"
Jury Prize
Mascha Schilinski for "Sound of Falling" and Oliver Laxe for "Sirat" (tie)
Best Director
Kleber Mendonça Filho for "The Secret Agent"
Best Screenplay
Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne for "Young Mothers"
Best Actress
Nadia Melliti for The Little Sister
Best Actor
Wagner Moura for "The Secret Agent"
Special Prize
"Resurrection", dir. Bi Gan
Camera d'Or for Best First Film
"The President's Cake", dir: Hassan Hadi
Palme d'Or for Best Short Film
"I'm Glad You're Dead Now", dir: Tawfeek Barhom
Best Short Film Special Mention
"Ali", dir. Adnan Al Rajeev
Un Certain Regard
Un Certain Regard Prize
"The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo", dir. Diego Céspedes
Jury Prize
"A Poet", dir. Simón Mesa Soto
Best Director
"Once Upon a Time in Gaza", dir. Arab & Tarzan Nasser
Best Screenplay
"Pillion", dir. Harry Lighton
Best Actress
"I Only Rest in the Storm", dir. Pedro Pinho
Best Actor
Frank Dillane in "Urchin", dir. Harris Dickinson
Caméra d'Or for best first film
"The President's Cake", dir. Hassan Hadi
Special Mention
"My Father's Shadow", dir. Akinola Davies Jr
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