The Wind That Shakes the Barley with Cillian Murphy.
British-Irish Politics Wins Palme d’Or
13th-time lucky: Veteran Ken Loach’s British-Irish political drama The Wind That Shakes the Barley, a depiction of the early 20th-century Irish rebellion against British rule, won the Palme d’Or at this year’s edition of the Cannes Film Festival.
Upon accepting his award, the 69-year-old British filmmaker – the oldest director with a film in competition this year, which happens to be his thirteenth time at Cannes – remarked that he hoped his film was “a little step in the British confronting their imperial history,” adding, “Maybe if we tell the truth about the past, we can tell the truth about the present.” Written by Paul Laverty, The Wind That Shakes the Barley stars Cillian Murphy, Padraic Delaney, and Liam Cunningham.
The runner-up was Grand Prix winner Flandres, another war film – in this case about an unnamed modern war that could be seen as an analogy to either Iraq or Afghanistan. Directed by controversial French filmmaker Bruno Dumont, Flandres made some viewers uncomfortable because of its downbeat view of humanity. Dumont had already won the Grand Prix in 1999, when his L’Humanité, which follows the investigation on the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl in a small French village, created an uproar.
“I think this award really belongs to Pedro. You are the greatest, the greatest. Thank you so much for what you do for women,” remarked Penélope Cruz upon accepting – along with fellow actresses Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo, Yohana Cobo, Chus Lampreave – the group Best Actress Award for their performances in Pedro Almodóvar’s Volver / Return, the story of a ghostmother who tries to make peace with her two living daughters, and probably the favorite film at the festival. As a consolation prize, Almodóvar took home the Best Screenplay Award.
The Best Director was Alejandro González Iñárritu for Babel, a contemporary tale inspired by the biblical fable, and starring Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, and Gael García Bernal, among others, as Earthlings who, despite all the currently available modern technology, can’t find the means to communicate with one another.
The Best Actor Award also went to a group of players: Jamel Debbouze, Samy Nacéri, Roschdy Zem, Sami Bouajila, and Bernard Blancan, the stars of Rachid Bouchareb’s Indigènes / Indigenous, another war movie, this one about North African men who’d never set foot in France but who are called to save the Motherland from the Nazi menace.
Among the other awards were the Jury Prize to Andrea Arnold’s thriller Red Road, the story of a surveillance center worker with voyeuristic tendencies; the Camera d’Or for Best First Film to Corneliu Porumboiu’s A Fost sau na fost? / 12:08, East of Bucharest, described by The New York Times as “a mordant look back at Romania’s 1989 Revolution”; and the Palme d’Or for Best Short Film to Sniffer, by Norwegian director Bobbie Peers.
* Seven of Loach’s films were shown in competition in previous years.
Cannes Film Festival Awards 2006
Cannes Film Festival 2006: May 17–28
FEATURE FILMS
PALME D’OR
THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY by Ken Loach
GRAND PRIX
FLANDRES by Bruno Dumont
BEST DIRECTOR
Alejandro González Iñárritu for BABEL
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR
Jamel Debbouze, Samy Nacéri, Roschdy Zem, Sami Bouajila, Bernard Blancan in INDIGÈNES by Rachid Bouchareb
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS
Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo, Yohana Cobo, Chus Lampreave in VOLVER by Pedro Almodóvar
BEST SCREENPLAY
Pedro Almodóvar for VOLVER
JURY PRIZE
RED ROAD by Andrea Arnold
SHORT FILMS
PALME D’OR
SNIFFER by Bobbie Peers
JURY PRIZE
PRIMERA NIEVE (Première neige) by Pablo Aguero
HONORABLE MENTION
CONTE DE QUARTIER by Florence Miailhe
UN CERTAIN REGARD PRIZE
LUXURY CAR (Voiture de luxe) by Wang Chao
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
TEN CANOES by Rolf De Heer
ACTING AWARD (ACTOR)
Don Angel Tavira in EL VIOLÍN by Francisco Vargas
ACTING AWARD (ACTRESS)
Doroteea Petre in CUM MI-AM PETRECUT SFÂRSITUL LUMII by Catalin Mitulescu
PRESIDENT OF THE JURY AWARD
MEURTRIÈRES by Patrick Grandperret
CAMÉRA D’OR
A FOST SAU NA FOST? (12:08, East of Bucharest) by Corneliu Porumboiu
CINÉFONDATION
FIRST PRIZE
GE & ZETA by Gustavo Riet
SECOND PRIZE
MR. SCHWARTZ, MR. HAZEN & MR. HORLOCKER by Stefan Mueller
THIRD PRIZE (tie)
MOTHER by Siân Heder and A VÍRUS by Ágnes Kocsis
Feature Films Jury: Chinese director Wong Kar-Wai, President; Italian actress Monica Bellucci; English actress Helena Bonham Carter; Argentinean director Lucrecia Martel; Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi; American actor Samuel L. Jackson; French director Patrice Leconte; English actor-director Tim Roth; and Palestinian director Elia Suleiman.
Un Certain Regard Jury: Monte Hellman, President; Jean-Pierre Lavoignat; Lars-Olav Beier; Laura Winters; Marjane Satrapi; Maurizio Cabonat
Cinéfondation and short films Jury: Russian director Andreï Konchalovsky, President; French actress Sandrine Bonnaire; German actor Daniel Brühl; Malian director Souleymane Cisse; Polish composer Zbigniew Preisner.
Deepa Mehta’s controversial Indo-Canadian production Water, which depicts the plight of Indian widows during the Gandhi era, has won the Golden Kinnaree for Best Film at the 2006 Bangkok International Film Festival. In 2000, while making the film in India Mehta received death threats from Hindu radicals, and was thus forced to abandon production for several years. Five years later, she resumed working on the film in Sri Lanka. Water, a sizable box office hit in Canada, has been nominated by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television for nine Genies, including Best Film and Best Director.
Other winners at the Bangkok Festival were Best Director Park Chan-Wook for Chinjeolhan geumjassi / Lady Vengeance, Best Actor Presley Chweneyagae for his thug with a heart in the Academy Award nominated Tsotsi, and Best Actress Felicity Huffman for her (truly outstanding) performance as a pre-op transsexual in Transamerica.
Princess Ubol Rattana gave Catherine Deneuve the Lifetime Achievement Award. Deneuve took part in a Q&A session following a screening of one of her greatest films, Jacques Demy’s sublime 1964 musical The Umbrellas of Cherbourg / Le Parapluies de Cherbourg.
Bangkok Film Festival Awards 2006
Golden Kinnaree for Best Film: Water, by Deepa Mehta (Canada / India)
Best Director: Park Chan-Wook for Chinjeolhan geumjassi / Lady Vengeance (South Korea)
Best Actor: Presley Chweneyagae, Tsotsi (South Africa / UK)
Best Actress: Felicity Huffman, Transamerica (United States)
Best ASEAN Film: Hat mua roi bao lau / Bride of Silence by Doan Minh Phuong and Doan Thanh Nghia(Vietnam)
Best Documentary: Rize, David LaChapelle (United States)
Jamesan Best ASEAN Short Film: Under Construction, by Lee Hyung-Suk (South Korea)
New Voices Award: Las Mantenidas sin sueños / Kept and Dreamless, by Martin DeSalvo and Vera Fogwill (Argentina)
Jameson People’s Choice Award: Art of the Devil 2, by Kongkiat Khomsiri; Art Thamthrakul; Yosapong Polsap; Putipong Saisikaew; Isara Nadee; Pasith Buranajan; Seree Pongniti (Thailand)
Jury Mention (in recognition of excellence): Anlat Istanbul / Istanbul Tales, Umit Unal; Kudret Sabanci; Elim Demirdelen; Yucel Yolcu; Omur Atay (Turkey)
Honorable Mentions: Ballets Russes, by Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine (United States), and In the Shadow of the Palms, by Wayne Coles-Janess (Australia)
Lifetime Achievement Award: Catherine Deneuve
Honorary Award: Sombat Metanee
Golden Kinnaree for Contributions to Asian Cinema: Wouter Barendrecht and Michael J. Werner’s Fortissimo Films
Golden Kinnaree Jury: President – Fred Schepisi (Australia); Donald K. Ranvaud (UK / Italy), Pantham Thongsang (Thailand), Nancy Kwan (Hong Kong / UK), Charles Dance (UK), Julie Delpy (France)
FIPRESCI jury: Hubert Niogret (France), Andronika Matonova (Bulgaria ), Ranjanee Ratnavibhushana (Sri Lanka), Howard Feinstein (USA), Krisda Kerddee (Thailand)
Jury for New Voices: Nantakwang Sirasunthorn (Thailand), Susan López Aranda (Mexico), Denis Pregnolato (South Africa)
Jury for International Documentary: Thunska Pansittivorakul (Thailand), Tomas Arana (USA)
Cannes Film Festival movie line-up
The 59th Cannes Film Festival will open on May 17. The awards will be announced on May 28.
Films in competition:
LAmico di famiglia / Friend of the Family (Paolo Sorrentino)
Babel (Alejandro González Iñárritu)
Il Caimano / The Caiman (Nanni Moretti)
Fast Food Nation (Richard Linklater)
Flandres (Bruno Dumont)
Indegènes / Days of Glory (Rachid Bouchareb)
Iklimer / Les Climates (Nuri Bilge Ceylan)
Juventude em Marcha (Pedro Costa)
El Laberinto del Fauno / Pans Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro)
Laitakaupungin valot / Lights in the Dusk (Aki Kaurismaki)
Marie-Antoinette (Sofia Coppola)
Quand jetais chanteur / When I was a Singer (Xavier Giannoli)
La Raison du plus faible / The Weakest Is Always Right (Lucas Belvaux)
Red Road (Andrea Arnold)
Selon Charlie (Nicole Garcia)
Southland Tales (Richard Kelly)
Summer Palace (Ye Lou)
Volver (Pedro Almodóvar)
The Wind That Shakes the Barley (Ken Loach)
Opening film:
The Da Vinci Code (Ron Howard)
Closing film:
Transylvania (Tony Gatlif)
Official selection – out of competition special screenings:
United 93 (Paul Greengrass)
X-Men 3: The Last Stand (Brett Ratner)
Over the Hedge (Tim Johnson, Karey Kirkpatrick)
Official selection – midnight screenings:
Shortbus (John Cameron Mitchell)
Election 2 (Johnnie To)
Guisi / Silk (Su Chao-pin)
Tribeca Film Festival Awards: Argentinean Falklands War Drama Tops
Tristán Bauer’s Iluminados por el fuego / Blessed by Fire, the story of a veteran from Argentina’s disastrous Falklands War, won the Best Narrative Feature Award at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. Other winners include Best Actor Jürgen Vogel, as a rapist recently released from prison in Der Freie Wille / The Free Will (Germany); Best Actress Eva Holubová for Ucastnici zajezdu / Holiday Makers (Czech Republic); and Best Documentary Feature The War Tapes, which uses digital images recorded by several members of the U.S. National Guard serving in Iraq. The documentary was directed by Deborah Scranton.
Egyptian director Marwan Hamed was chosen Best New Narrative Filmmaker for his controversial Omaret yakobean / Yacoubian Building, which depicts life – including taboo subjects in Muslim countries, such as homo and hetero sexuality, corrupt religious figures, and pedophilia – in a decadent Cairo apartment building. The Best New Documentary Filmmaker Award went to Pelin Esmer for The Play (Turkey).
BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE
Iluminados por el fuego / Blessed by Fire (Argentina / Spain)
Director: Tristán Bauer
BEST ACTOR IN A NARRATIVE FEATURE
Jürgen Vogel, Der Freie Wille / The Free Will Director: Matthias Glasner (Germany )
SPECIAL MENTION: Adam Imam, Omaret yakobean / Yacoubian Building
BEST ACTRESS IN A NARRATIVE FEATURE
Eva Holubová, Ucastnici zajezdu / Holiday Makers Director: Jiri Vejdelek (Czech Republic)
SPECIAL MENTION: Ensemble cast of Holiday Makers
BEST NEW NARRATIVE FILMMAKER
Marwan Hamed, Omaret yakobean / Yacoubian Building (Egypt)
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
The War Tapes Director: Deborah Scranton (USA)
BEST NEW DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER
Pelin Esmer, The Play (Turkey)
DOCUMENTARY SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Voices of Bam
Director: Aliona van der Horst and Maasja Ooms (The Netherlands)
MADE IN NEW YORK
BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE
The Treatment (USA)
Director: Oren Rudavsky
MADE IN NEW YORK NARRATIVE FEATURE SPECIAL MENTION
A Very Serious Person (USA)
Director: Charles Busch
NEW YORK LOVES FILM
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
When I Came Home (USA)
Director: Dan Lohaus
NEW YORK LOVES FILM DOCUMENTARY FEATURE HONORABLE MENTION
Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis (USA)
Director: Mary Jordan
and
Cats of Mirikitani (USA)
Director: Linda Hattendorf
AUDIENCE AWARD
Cats of Mirikitani (USA)
Director: Linda Hattendorf
BEST NARRATIVE SHORT
The Shovel
Director: Nick Childs (USA)
NARRATIVE SHORT SPECIAL MENTION
Topor and Me
Director: Sylvia Kristel (The Netherlands)
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Native New Yorker
Director: Steve Bilich (USA)
BEST STUDENT VISIONARY SHORT
Dead End Job
Director: Samantha Davidson Green (USA)
International Narrative Competition Jury: Edward Burns, Terry George, Josh Lucas, Kelly Lynch, Antonio Skármeta, Trudie Styler, Melvin Van Peebles
International Documentary Competition Jury: Ken Burns, Robert Drew, Whoopi Goldberg, Oren Jacoby, Rory Kennedy, Marc Levin.
Michel Hazanavicius’ French spy spoof OSS 117: Le Caire nid d’espions / OSS 117: Nest of Spies won the Golden Space Needle Award at the 32nd annual Seattle International Film Festival.
Other winners include Best Director Goran Dukic for Wristcutters: A Love Story (U.S.), a comedy set in a way station for those who have committed suicide; Best Actor Ryan Gosling for his drug-addicted teacher in Half Nelson (U.S.); and Best Actress Fiona Gordon for her Jacques Tati-esque character in L’iceberg / The Iceberg (Belgium).
The 2006 Seattle International Film Festival was held between May 25-June 18.
Jury Awards
New Directors Showcase Award: Host & Guest, director Shin Dong-il
Special Jury Prize: Grain in Ear, director Zhang Lu
New American Cinema: Live Free or Die, directors Andy Robin and Gregg Kavet
Special Jury Prize: Ahmad Razvi’s performance in Man Push Cart
Best Documentary: Gitmo, the New Rules of War, directors Erik Gandini and Tarik Sale
Special Jury Prize: Walking to Werner, director Linas Phillips
Best Short Film, Narrative: Before Dawn, director Balint Kenyeres
Special Jury Prize: Mother, director Sian Heder
Best Short Film, Documentary: Lot 63, Grave C, director Sam Green
Special Jury Prize: Undressing My Mother, director Ken Wardrop
Best Short Film, Animation: Ringo, director Dave Monahan
Special Jury Prizes: Fumi and the Bad Luck Foot, director David Chai, and Marvelous, Keen Loony Bin, director Lizzie Akina
FutureWave Awards
WaveMaker Award: Slip of the Tongue, director Karen Lum
Special Jury Prize: Rez Life, directors Nick Clark, Martin Edwards, David Aleck
FutureWave Audience Award: The Drive Thru, directed by Stacey Rozich, Matt Lewis, Jesse Lomax, Ashley Russell
Audience Awards – Golden Space Needle Awards
Best Film: OSS 117: Le Caire nid d’espions / OSS 117: Nest of Spies, director Michel Hazanavicius (France)
Runners-up: Wristcutters: A Love Story, director Goran Dukic (USA)
Elsa y Fred / Elsa & Fred, director Marcos Carnevale (Spain / Argentina)
Quinceañera, directors Wash Westmoreland, Richard Glatzer (USA)
Lassie, director Charles Sturridge (Ireland)
Best Director: Goran Dukic – Wristcutters: A Love Story (USA)
Runners-up: Andrucha Waddington – Casa de Areia / House of Sand (Brazil)
Marco Tullio Giordana – Once You’re Born You Can No Longer Hide (Italy)
Jean-Marc Vallée, C.R.A.Z.Y. (Canada)
Ishai Setton – The Big Bad Swim (USA)
Best Actor: Ryan Gosling – Half Nelson (USA)
Runners-up: Alan Rickman – Snow Cake (Canada/UK)
Chris Taahima – Americanese (USA)
Ulrich Thomsen – Adam’s Apples (Denmark)
David Dencik – En Soap / A Soap (Denmark)
Best Actress: Fiona Gordon – The Iceberg (Belgium)
Runners-up: Sigourney Weaver – Snow Cake (Canada/UK)
Fernanda Montenegro – Casa de Areia / House of Sand (Brazil)
China Zorilla – Elsa & Fred (Spain)
Shareeka Epps – Half Nelson (USA)
Best Documentary: The Trials of Darryl Hunt – dir. Rickie Stern, Annie Sundberg (USA)
Runners-up: Heart of the Game, director Ward Serrill (USA)
American Blackout, director Ian Inaba
Wrestling With Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner, director Freida Lee Mock (USA)
Who Killed the Electric Car?, director Chris Paine
Short Film: Full Disclosure – Douglas Horn (USA)
Runners-up: Heavy Metal Jr – Chris Waitt (Scotland)
The Legend of the Scarecrow, director Marco Besas (Spain)
K-7, director Christopher Leone (USA)
Choque, director Nacho Vigalondo (Spain)
Lena Sharpe Award: Freida Lee Mock for Wrestling With Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner (USA)
Atlanta Film Festival winners
2006 Atlanta Film Festival Awards: June 17.
Grand Jury Prize, Best Narrative Film:
Pope Dreams by Patrick Hogan
Grand Jury Prize, Best Documentary Film:
What Remains by Steven Cantor
Audience Award, Best Narrative Film:
Quinceañera directed by Wash Westmoreland and Richard Glatzer
Audience Award, Best Documentary Film:
The Trials of Darryl Hunt by Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg
Best Actor (tie):
John Maxwell (Oh Mr. Faulkner, Do You Write?)
Chris Butler (The Little Death)
Best Actress:
Ruby Dee (No. 2)
Ossie Davis Award:
Cicely Tyson
Audience Award, Best Short Film:
SPIN
Best Animated Film:
The Wraith of Cobble Hill directed by Adam Parrish King
Best Documentary Short:
Closing Time
Best Narrative Short for Oscar Consideration:
A Supermarket Love Song (UK)
Southeastern Media Award:
Keesha’s House, Narrative Feature by David Collins (Producer), Dee Wagner (Screenwriter) and Steve Coulter (Director, Screenwriter)
Magnolia Teen Filmmaker Award:
To Serve, Documentary Short by Michael Thomas (Reel Works in Brooklyn, NY)
Women in Film Award:
Director Anne Makepeace (Rain in a Dry Land)
Perfect Pitch Finalists:
Patrick Franklin and Andy Rusk for “Plaster Man”
Mary Branson for “The Best Town on Earth”
Rachel Stamper for “The Prom King”
‘Four Minutes,’ Olivier Gourmet: Shanghai Film Festival Winners
The 2006 Shanghai International Film Festival was held between June 17–25.
BEST FILM
VIER MINUTEN / FOUR MINUTES (Germany) by Chris Kraus
JURY GRAND PRIX
THE FOREST RANGER (China) by Qi Jian
BEST DIRECTOR
Fabienne Godet for SAUF LE RESPECT QUE JE VOUS DOIS / BURNT OUT (France)
BEST ACTOR
Olivier Gourmet for SAUF LE RESPECT QUE JE VOUS DOIS / BURNT OUT (France)
BEST ACTRESS
Els Dottermans for DENNIS VAN RITA / LOVE BELONGS TO EVERYONE (Belgium)
BEST SCREENPLAY
Hugo van Laere for DENNIS VAN RITA / LOVE BELONGS TO EVERYONE (Belgium)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Fabio Cianchetti for THE LAND (Italy)
BEST MUSIC
Karl Jenkins for RIVER QUEEN (New Zealand)
ASIAN NEW TALENT – BEST FILM
LIVING IN FEAR by Chuyên Bui Thac
ASIAN NEW TALENT – BEST DIRECTOR
Wanma Caidan for Lhing vjags kyi ma ni rdo vbum
PRESS PRIZE – BEST FILM
THE FOREST RANGER (China) by Qi Jian
PRESS PRIZE – EXPLORING SPIRIT AWARD
LE PARFUM DE LA DAME EN NOIR – Bruno Podalydès
PRESS PRIZE – BEST VISUAL EFFECT
THE MUSIC BOX – Yi Fei Chen
Outstanding Contribution to Chinese Cinema
Ang Lee
Special Artistic Achievement Award
Catherine Deneuve
Jury: Luc Besson (France) (head of jury); Xiaogang Feng (China) (vice-head of jury); Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón (Spain); Diana Bracho (Mexico); Duncan Kenworthy (UK); Kyung-Taek Kwak (Korea); Stanley Kwan (Hong Kong/China); Gabriele Salvatores (Italy); Jinglei Xu (China)
Asian New Talent Jury: Zhuangzhuang Tian; Marian Bhalotra; Joon-ho Bong; Kaizo Hayashi; Cheuk-to Li
Kerala Film Critics awards
Best Film: Ananthabhadram
Best Director: Santosh Sivan, Ananthabhadram
Best Actor (tie): Manoj K. Jayan, Ananthabhadram and Dileep, Chandupottu
Runner up: Lal, Thommanum Makualam and Bunglavil Oudha
Best Actress: Kavya Madhavan, Ananthabhadram and Sheelabathi
Runner up: Shobha Mohan, Chandupottu
Best Screenplay: Aryadan Shaukat, Daivanamathil
Best Cinematography: Santhosh Sivan, Ananthabhadram
Best New Director: Jogh Esthapan
Best Male Playback Singer: M.G. Sreekumar, Bhaliyam and Mayookam
Best Female Playback Singer: Sujatha, Paranja Pheerath Vishesagal
Best Lyrics: M D Rajendran
Best Child Actor: Riya Jith
Most Popular Actor: Mohanlal, Naran and Thanmatra
Chalachithra Ratna Award: Thilakan, for his contributions to the Malayalam film industry
Kerala is a state in southern India. Most of the population speaks the Malayalam language.