Cannes Palme d'Or goes to 'Shoplifters'
May 19, 2018
Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda's "Shoplifters" won Cannes Film Festival's prestigious top prize, the Palme d'Or, on Saturday.
Other films considered for the top prize included Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan's "The Wild Pear Tree" and South Korean auteur Lee Chang-dong's "Burning."
Polish director Pawel Pawlikowski won best director for his film "Cold War." Lebanese director Nadine Labaki's "Capernaum" won the jury prize. American filmmaker Spike Lee's "BlacKkKlansman" won the Grand Prix.
Kazakhstan's Samal Yeslyamova won best actress for her role in "Ayka," while Marcelo Fonte won best actor for "Dogman."
Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi and Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov were banned from leaving their respective countries to participate in the festival, where their films also competed for the top prize.
'Daring, provocative'
Several Hollywood actresses, including Kristen Stewart and Salma Hayek, joined in a protest on the red carpet to demand a "safe workplace" after explosive revelations of sexual abuse took down American movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
Festival organizers also signed a pledge to encourage more diversity at Cannes by 2020, adding that they hope their efforts will set an industry standard.
Despite rumors that the festival was undergoing a crisis due to fewer A-list celebrities in attendance, American magazine Vanity Fair described 2018 as a "pivot year" for the festival as major studios choose to promote films via social media instead of flashy gatherings.
"In making the festival a little less America-centric than it has been lately, Cannes has re-asserted itself as the premier destination for daring, provocative international cinema," the magazine said.
ls/jm (AFP, AP)