Latest news with #PalmeDOr
Malay Mail
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
Iraqi director Hasan Hadi wins top Cannes debut prize for childhood tale set under Saddam's rule
CANNES, May 25 — Hasan Hadi, the first filmmaker from Iraq to be selected for the prestigious Cannes Festival, on Saturday won a top prize for his childhood adventure under economic sanctions in 'The President's Cake'. His first feature-length film follows nine-year-old Lamia after her school teacher picks her to bake the class a cake for President Saddam Hussein's birthday or risk being denounced for disloyalty. It is the early 1990s, the country is under crippling UN sanctions, and she and her grandmother can barely afford to eat. The pair set off from their home in the marshlands into town to try to track down the unaffordable ingredients. Hadi dedicated his Camera d'Or award, which honours first-time directors, to 'every kid or child around the world who somehow finds love, friendship and joy amid war, sanctions and dictatorship. 'You are the real heroes,' he said. He later shared the stage with dissident Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, who won the festival's Palme D'Or top prize for his 'It Was Just an Accident', the tale of five ordinary Iranians confronting a man they believed tortured them in jail. 'The President's Cake' has received excellent reviews since premiering last week in the Directors' Fortnight section. Cinema bible Variety called it a 'tragicomic gem'. Deadline said it was 'head and shoulders above' some of the films in the running for the festival's Palme d'Or top prize, and 'could turn out to be Iraq's first nominee for an Oscar'. Palestinian films Also from the Middle East, Palestinian director Tawfeek Barhom received his award for his short film 'I'm Glad You're Dead Now'. After giving thanks, he took the opportunity to mention the war in Gaza. 'In 20 years from now when we are visiting the Gaza Strip, try not to think about the dead and have a nice trip,' he said. US President Donald Trump sparked controversy this year by saying he wanted to turn the war-ravaged Palestinian territory into the 'Riviera of the Middle East'. Outside the main competition, Gazan twin brothers Arab and Tarzan Nasser on Friday received a directing award in the Certain Regard parallel section for 'Once Upon A Time In Gaza'. One of them dedicated the award to Palestinians, especially those living in their homeland of Gaza, which they left in 2012. He said that, when they hesitated to return to Cannes to receive the prize, his mother had encouraged him to go and tell the world about the suffering of people in Gaza. 'She said, 'No, no, no, you have to go. Tell them to stop the genocide',' he said. Amnesty International last month said Israel was carrying out a 'live-streamed genocide' against Palestinians in Gaza, claims Israel dismissed as 'blatant lies'. — AFP
Forbes
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘It Was Just An Accident' Wins Palme D'or At Cannes; ‘Sentimental Value' Awarded The Grand Prix
It Was Just An Accident directed by Jafar Panahi won the Palme d'Or tonight at the Cannes Film Festival. The co-production between France and Iran premiered May 20th and earned an 8-minute standing ovation. The film quickly became one of the most talked-about movies on the Croisette. This win also marks Neon's sixth win in a row, an incredible streak for the U.S. distributor. French actor Laurent Lafitte hosted the closing ceremony of the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, which Juliette Binoche presided over with her jury, which included Halle Berry, Payal Kapadia, Alba Rohrwacher, Leïla Slimani, Dieudo Hamadi, Hong Sangsoo, Carlos Reygadas and Jeremy Strong. During his speech, Panahi said, ''Before I say anything else, please let me thank my family for the period of time I was absent and my team who accompanied me throughout the making of this film.'' He added: ''I think now is the right moment to ask every person that has a different opinion, I ask you this one thing: let us put our differences aside, what is important is the freedom of our country. With you, here, we have this moment together, where no one tells us what to wear, what to say, what we must not do. Cinema is a society, no one can tell us what to do.'' Throughout the ceremony, many prestigious awards were given to some incredible movies presented during this festival's edition. The Camera d'Or trophy was given to Hasan Hadi's The President's Cake. A Special Price was given to Resurrection directed Bi Gan, China's incredible sci-fi entry into the competition. Wagner Mourra was awarded the award for best actor for his role in ''The Secret Agent'' Brazil's unique entry in competition this year. Best screenplay is awarded to Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne for their film Young Mothers. The Jury Prize was exceptionally awarded to two movies, Sirat directed by Oliver Lax, and Sound of Falling directed by Mascha Schilinski. Legendary director Claude Lelouch presented Kleber Mendonça Filho the award for best director, tonight's second win for The Secret Agent. During his speech, the director called the Cannes Film Festival 'The cathedral of cinema.' Nadia Melliti was awarded best actress for her role in coming-of-age movie The Little Sister directed by Hafsia Herzi and adapted from Fatima Daas' autofiction The Last One. Sentimental Value directed by Joachim Trier won the Grand Prix at Cannes tonight. The film premiered May 21st and received a 19-minute standing ovation. In 2021, it was Trier's The Worst Person in the World that earned Renate Reinsve a Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival.
CBC
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Iranian revenge thriller It Was Just an Accident wins Palme d'Or at Cannes
Iranian dissident filmmaker Jafar Panahi's revenge thriller It Was Just an Accident won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, handing the festival's top prize to a director who had been banned from leaving Iran for more than 15 years. Cate Blanchett presented the award to Panahi, who three years ago was imprisoned in Iran before going on a hunger strike. The crowd rose in a thunderous standing ovation for the filmmaker. The win for It Was Just an Accident extends one of the most unprecedented streaks in movies: the indie distributor Neon has backed the last six Palme d'Or winners. Neon, which acquired It Was Just an Accident for North American distribution after its premiere in Cannes, follows its Palmes for Parasite, Titane, Triangle of Sadness, Anatomy of a Fall and Anora.
New York Times
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
If This Movie Wins the Palme d'Or, It Will Extend a Staggering Streak
They sounded froggy. Their eyes were heavy. But underneath all that fatigue, it was clear that the cast and crew of 'Sentimental Value' were in good spirits during their Cannes Film Festival news conference on Wednesday. 'If my voice is a little rusty, it's because the film was apparently well-received and we had the party yesterday,' said the co-writer Eskil Vogt. Later, the actor Stellan Skarsgard's voice also faltered at the news conference. 'I was at the same party,' he said apologetically. I, too, had been to that late-night soiree, crammed shoulder-to-shoulder with people eager to celebrate the festival's biggest hit so far. Earlier that night, 'Sentimental Value' received the most supersized standing ovation of Cannes, immediately distinguishing it as one of the strongest contenders to win the Palme d'Or. And if it does take that prestigious trophy, one of the most remarkable streaks in cinema will extend even further. The film's distributor, Neon, is now angling for its sixth consecutive Palme d'Or, following 'Parasite,' 'Titane,' 'Triangle of Sadness,' 'Anatomy of a Fall' and 'Anora.' Most insiders believe the Palme could go to 'Sentimental Value,' the Iranian drama 'It Was Just an Accident' or the Brazilian entry 'The Secret Agent,' though Neon also bought the latter two films after they premiered this week, further improving the company's odds. It may help that the 'Sentimental Value' director Joachim Trier has come close to the top prize here before: His previous film, the dramedy 'The Worst Person in the World,' won the best-actress award at Cannes for its lead, Renate Reinsve. 'Sentimental Value' finds them reteaming for the story of Nora, a Norwegian stage actress who is reluctantly reunited with her estranged father, Gustav (Skarsgard), after her mother's funeral. Gustav was barely there for Nora and her sister when they were growing up, prioritizing his once-thriving career as a director. But he has come to Nora in a last-ditch effort to mend their relationship, having written a new film about his family in which he hopes his daughter will star. When Nora flatly refuses, Gustav entices an American actress (Elle Fanning) to play the lead instead. Still, as he moves back into their childhood home to begin preparing the picture, long-buried tensions between father and daughter rise once more to the surface. 'Doing this film, I was a bit shy,' Trier said at the news conference, nodding to his longtime collaborator Vogt. 'We come from kind of a punk background, Eskil and I. We were counterculture and didn't want to make soppy movies.' Though the new film isn't soppy, it is at least heartfelt. Trier said that was by design. 'Tenderness is the new punk for me,' he said to applause. 'This is what I need right now. I need to believe that we can see the other, I need to believe there is a sense of reconciliation, that polarization and anger and machismo isn't the only way forward.' Still, at least there's something of a punk element associated with the movie. At the end of her Coachella set last month, the singer Charli XCX teased that it was time to pass her Brat Summer baton to other musicians and filmmakers making new work this season. Included in that tribute was a flashing title card that read 'Joachim Trier Summer,' a phrase that Fanning embraced by wearing it on a T-shirt at the news conference. 'I was stoked that you made that!' enthused Trier. 'The problem is, I've been working so much for the last three years, I don't even know what a Joachim Trier Summer is anymore. But I'll try to have one as well.'
The Guardian
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Cannes film festival
'We have to stop what's going on, it's insane': Robert De Niro on battling age, apathy and Trump 'We have to stop what's going on, it's insane': Robert De Niro on battling age, apathy and Trump As the actor receives an honorary Palme d'Or at Cannes film festival, he talks about why he couldn't look at himself if he didn't speak out about the US president and politics
