24-05-2025
Cannes 2025: Chilean AIDS drama ‘The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo' wins Un Certain Regard while India's ‘Homebound' leaves empty-handed
Chilean director Diego Céspedes' debut feature The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo has won the top award in the Un Certain Regard section at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, edging out several high-profile contenders. The character-driven drama set in a transgender commune during the early years of the AIDS epidemic in 1980s Chile, was praised by the jury for its bold and unconventional storytelling.
The jury, chaired by British filmmaker Molly Manning Walker, described the film as 'raw and powerful and yet funny and wild.' Céspedes, receiving the award, said the film was inspired by 'all the angry lovers who just wanted to love like everybody else.'
The Un Certain Regard section featured three debut works by well-known actors-turned-directors this year: Kristen Stewart (The Chronology of Water), Scarlett Johansson (Eleanor the Great), and Harris Dickinson (Urchin). None of the three walked away with a prize, with the jury opting instead for emerging voices from Latin America and the Middle East.
The Jury Prize, the second-highest honor in the section, went to A Poet, directed by Colombia's Simón Mesa Soto. The film centers on a struggling poetry teacher and his misguided attempt to mentor a working-class teenage prodigy. Mesa Soto dedicated the award to fellow filmmakers, calling filmmaking 'a hard job' and stressing the difficulty of making art under uncertain conditions.
Best Director went to Palestinian twin brothers Tarzan and Arab Nasser for Once Upon a Time in Gaza, which portrays two young men navigating life in the Gaza Strip in 2007. The brothers used their acceptance speech to highlight the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, relaying a message from their mother urging them to attend Cannes and 'tell them to stop the genocide.' They dedicated their award to Palestinians.
Actor Cléo Diara won a performance award for her role in Portuguese director Pedro Pinho's three-and-a-half-hour film I Only Rest in the Storm, which explores the postcolonial legacy of Portugal through the lens of a multi-generational family. In her speech, Diara made a direct statement in support of Palestinian rights and also spoke against political developments in Portugal, where a new right-wing government recently took office.
British actor Frank Dillane won a performance award for his role in Urchin, Harris Dickinson's social-realist film about a homeless addict. Dillane kept his remarks short, expressing gratitude for the opportunity to tell stories about people living on the margins of society.
Harry Lighton of the UK won Best Screenplay for Pillion, a drama exploring a dom-sub relationship between two bikers. In his speech, Lighton thanked the kink community for allowing the story to be told with respect and humor. He also acknowledged his producers for discouraging a last-minute idea to relocate the film's setting to Ancient Rome.
India's only entry in the Un Certain Regard section, Neeraj Ghaywan's Homebound, did not receive any awards. The film premiered to a nine-minute standing ovation earlier in the week.
Homebound was seen as a potential contender, especially given the backing of both Bollywood producer Karan Johar and executive producer Martin Scorsese. Ghaywan had previously won acclaim at Cannes in 2015 with Masaan, which earned the FIPRESCI and Promising Future awards.
Despite missing out on a prize, Homebound received strong critical response, and its presence at Cannes will likely transalte to potential award season contention later in the year, à la Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine As Light.
