Cannes: The Palme d'Or goes to Ken Loach

The winner of the Cannes Palme d'Or 2016 was announced at the end of an eagerly awaited award ceremony held on Sunday evening (22.05.2016). Against all expectations, the jury selected the film "I, Daniel Blake" by veteran British filmmaker Ken Loach (79). Actor Mel Gibson handed out the award.

Shahab Hosseini received the Best Actor Award for his performance in the Iranian film "The Salesman" ("Forushade"), directed by Asghar Farhadi.

The Best Actress Award went to Jaclyn Jose for her role in the Philippine movie "Ma'Rosa," directed by Brillante Mendoza.

The jury selected Christian Mungiu from Romania and Olivier Assavas from France as Best Directors.

The Canadian Xavier Dolan won the jury's Grand Prix as well as the Ecumenical Award for his film "It's Only the End of the World."

Also among the contenders in the competition and strongly praised by critics during the festival, the film "Toni Erdmann" by German director Maren Ade received ahead of the award ceremony the International Critics' Prize of the Fipresci for best picture.

Competition for the Palme d'Or

The Cannes International Film Festival is considered the world's most important film competition. Since 1949, an international jury has been selecting the best, most innovative film productions. The main prize, the Golden Palm or Palme d'Or, has been awarded since 1955 and is one of the most coveted awards in the film industry.

This year, 21 films were competing for the award.