Awards to women at 74th Festival de Cannes
By Moira Jean Sullivan
This year the 74th film festival seemed to move Cannes in the direction that has been discussed since 2015. That year Anna Serner, CEO of the Swedish Film Institute, presented a seminar on "50/50" – achieving gender parity in the film industry with 50% men and women. It certainly is not going to happen in the US but it did happen in Sweden that achieved this 50-50 gender parity quite quickly and also in the UK.
There was a resounding applause when Jodie Foster lifetime achievement award came out and said you really missed this – watching films in public in front of a large screen such as the venues at this years festival with a wide variety of high quality films from all over the world that will not be coming soon to a theater near you. Cannes was really special this year. Awards night at the 74th Cannes Film Festival was special with so many of the top prizes going to women. Women constituted the majority of the feature film competition jury - five out of nine - for the first time in the festival's history.
The PALME D'OR went to TITANE by Julia Ducournau, the second women in Cannes history to win this award for her film. The first woman to win the Palme d’Or was Jane Campion for The Piano in 1993 who shared the Palme d’or with Chen Kaige for Farewell My Concubine. In 2013 the Palme d’Or went to Blue is the Warmest Color directed by Abdelatif Kerchiche AND to the two actors in the film Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchapolous. The jury realized how much these actors were also a part of the direction that year.
In the Un Certain Regard or Director’s Fortnight series (six of the nine prizes were awarded to women) and the five-person Un Certain Regard Jury was composed of three women.
The section prize went to RAZZHIMAYA KULAKI (UNCLENCHING THE FISTS) by Kira KOVALENKO
The ENSEMBLE PRIZE went to BONNE MÈRE (GOOD MOTHER) by Hafsia HERZI
The COURAGE PRIZE went to LA CIVIL by Teodora Ana MIHAI
SPECIAL MENTION - UN CERTAIN REGARD went to NOCHE DE FUEGO (PRAYERS FOR THE STOLEN) Tatiana HUEZO
Each year the Caméra d'or is given to the best first film from the Official Selection, Critics week (La Semaine de la Critique) and the Directors' Fortnight. The Camera d'or jury was headed by Mélanie Thierry and the prize for a first feature went to MURINA directed by Antoneta ALAMAT KUSIJANOVIC.
There was also Gender parity in the Short film and Cinefoundation juries with three men and three women. 3RD PRIZE CINÉFONDATION (EX-AEQUO) PRIN ORAS CIRCULA SCURTE POVESTI DE DRAGOSTE (LOVE STORIES ON THE MOVE) Carina-Gabriela DASOVEANU
The PALME D'OR FOR SHORT FILMS when to ALL THE CROWS IN THE WORLD (Hong Kong) by Tang Yi, a New York University student. All in all 2021 was a great year for film prizes to films directed by women.
Next year the Cannes film festival will return to its regular time slot in may for the 75th Cannes film festival.
Movie Magazine International
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