On Sunday, May 25, Festival President Patrice Chéreau and his jury announced the award winners of the 56th Cannes Film Festival.
Three films stood out in particular this year: Palme d’Or winner "Elephant" by Gus Van Sant also picked up the award for Best Direction; "The Barbarian Invasions" by Denys Arcand, a Franco-Canadian co-production, scooped up the awards for Best Actress and Best Screenplay and "Uzak" ("Distant") waltzed off with the Grand Prix and the award for Best Actor.
Complete Awards list for the 56th Cannes Film Festival, 2003:
Feature Films
- Palme d'Or: "Elephant" directed by Gus Van Sant
- Grand Prix: "Uzak" ("Distant") directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan
- Best Actress: Marie-Josée Croze in "The Barbarian Invasions," directed by Denys Arcand
- Best Actor: Muzaffer Özdemir and Mehmet Emin Toprak in "Uzak" ("Distant"), directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan
- Best Direction: "Elephant" by Gus Van Sant
- Best Screenplay: Denys Arcand for "The Barbarian Invasions"
- Jury Prize: "At Five In The Afternoon" ("Pani E Aser") directed by Samira Makhmalbaf
Short Films
- Palme d'Or for a Short Film: "Cracker Bag" directed by Glendyn Ivin
- Jury Prize for a Short Film: "L' Homme sans tête," a French short film by Juan Solanas, produced by Onyx Film and La Maison.
Camera d'Or
This award was given to "Reconstruction," directed by Christoffer Boe (Critics’ Week)
Camera d'Or – Special Mention: "Osama" directed by Sedigh Barmak
International Critics’ Prizes:
"Father and Son" directed by Aleksandr Sokurov
(Lumen Film and Mikado Film/Zero Film)
"American Splendor" directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini (Un Certain Regard)
"Las Horas del Dia" directed by Jaime Rosales (Directors’ Fortnight)
Un Certain Regard awards:
"La Meglio gioventù" directed by Marco Tullio Giordana (Best Film)
"A Thousand Months" by Faouzi Bensaïdi (Premier Regard)
"Crimson Gold" directed by Jafar Panahi (Jury Prize)
Critics’ Week: "Depuis qu'Otar est parti" by Julie Bertuccelli, produced by Les Films du Poisson
Ecumenical Jury Prize: "At Five In The Afternoon" ("Pani E Aser") directed by Samira Makhmalbaf
Cannes Junior: "Osama" directed by Sedigh Barmak
1st Prize: "Bezi zeko bezi" directed by Pavle Vuckovic
The festival closed with a screening of "Modern Times" by Charlie Chaplin (restored print).
