French films scooped up many awards at the closing ceremony of the 77th Cannes Film Festival on 25 May, with Jacques Audiard receiving two major prizes, and others going to a large number of French co-productions.
Unifrance warmly congratulate Jacques Audiard, who won two awards with his dazzling Emilia Pérez (Jury Prize and Award for Best Actress for the four actresses starring in the film), nine years after his Palme d'or for Dheepan. The film was produced by Page 114 and Why Not Productions.
Unifrance is also delighted with the Grand Prix awarded to the majority-French co-production All We Imagine as Light (a Petit Chaos production, sold internationally by Luxbox), Award for Best Director presented to Miguel Gomes for Grand Tour (co-produced by Cinéma Defacto and Shellac Sud), and the three prizes, including the Special Jury Prize, received by The Seed of the Sacred Fig, co-produced for France by Arte France Cinéma and Parallel 45.
Unifrance pays tribute to and congratulates Coralie Fargeat, the recipient of the Award for Best Screenplay for The Substance. Coralie travelled all over the world with Unifrance with her first film Revenge, and has since contributed a great deal to the organization's activities.
Congratualtions are also in order for the Palme d'or for a Short Fillm awarded to The Man Who Couldn't Remain Silent by Nebojša Slijepčević, co-produced by Les Films Norfolk, as well as all the other films awarded in the other sections, notably The Story of Souleymane, awarded two prizes in Un Certain Regard, and the two films sharing the Oeil d'or (the documentary prize): The Brink of Dreams and Ernest Cole, Lost and Found, both French co-productions.
Last but not least, huge applause to the team behind Colored, created by Tania De Montaigne, Stéphane Foenkinos, and Pierre-Alain Giraud, who won this year's new Best Immersive Film Prize from among the eight films selected.
This awards list reflects the vitality of French cinema through the wide range of films that will be shown around the world, and demonstrates the strength of independent French production in an international market that is still tense but was highly active during the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival.
Congratulations and thanks to all the teams of artists and professionals who have brought to life the many French films we have been able to discover this year at the festival, all selections included – writers, directors, actors, but also producers, sales agents, and distributors... It's thanks to their talent and commitment that our cinema continues to make its own inimitable mark on the international scene. Each film, with its unique view of the world, plays an active part in the artistic and cultural dialogue that binds us together and opens us up to other film worlds. Cinema's universal scope and freedom, respect for others and for fraternity, is much needed at the moment.
French films awarded in the Official Selection
Competition
- Grand Prix: All We Imagine as Light by Payal Kapadia
- Jury Prize: Emilia Pérez by Jacques Audiard
- Award for Best Director: Miguel Gomes for Grand Tour
- Award for Best Actress: Adriana Paz, Zoé Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez in Emilia Pérez
- Special Prize: The Seed of the Sacred Fig by Mohammad Rasoulof (minority-French co-production)
- Palme d'or for a Short Film: The Man Who Couldn't Remain Silent by Nebojša Slijepčević (minority-French co-production)
- Caméra d'or Special Distinction: Mongrel by Chiang Wei Liang
Un Certain Regard
- Jury Prize: The Story of Souleymane by Boris Lojkine
- Youth Award: Holy Cow by Louise Courvoisier
- Best Actress: Anasuya Sengupta in The Shameless (minority-French co-production)
- Best Actor: Abou Sangare in The Story of Souleymane
- Palme Dog: Kodi in Dog on Trial by Laetitia Dosch (minority-French co-productione)
Other awards
- Oeil d'or (ex-aequo): Ernest Cole, Lost and Found by Raoul Peck and The Brink of Dreams by Nada Riyadh and Ayman El Amir (minority-French co-production)
- Best Immersive Work: Colored by Tania De Montaigne, Stéphane Foenkinos & Pierre-Alain Giraud
- Fipresci Prize: The Seed of the Sacred Fig by Mohammad Rasoulof (minority-French co-production)
- François Chalais Prize: The Seed of the Sacred Fig by Mohammad Rasoulof (minority-French co-production)
French films awarded in Critics' Week
- Leitz Cine Discovery Prize for Short Film: Montsouris Park by Guil Sela
- Fondation Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award: Ricardo Teodoro for Baby (minority-French co-production)
French films awarded in Directors' Fortnight
- SACD Authors' Favorite Prize: This Life of Mine by Sophie Fillières
- Europa Cinémas Label: The Other Way Around by Jonás Trueba (minority-French co-production)
