An intimate lesbian love story by French director Abdellatif Kechiche won the top prize in Cannes on Sunday, and the film festival’s director immediately urged the large crowds protesting against gay marriage in Paris to go and see it.
“La Vie d’Adele - Chapitre 1 & 2” (Blue is the Warmest Colour) was chosen from a field of 20 films exploring sex, violence and emotional anguish which were vying for the Palme d’Or, one of the most coveted film awards after the Oscars.
Critics picked the three-hour film as a possible winner at the 66th Cannes festival, but wondered if its explicit lesbian sex scenes would deter the jury deciding the awards led by US filmmaker Steven Spielberg.
In an unusual move, Spielberg said the award would be shared between Kechiche and his two lead actresses Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux as they were central to the film’s success.
“I think it will get a lot of play ... I think this film carries a very strong message, a very positive message,” Spielberg told journalists. “It was the perfect choice between those two actresses and this incredible very sensitive and observant filmmaker.”
Critics had also considered as a forerunner “Inside Llewyn Davis” about a struggling New York folk singer by the American Coen brothers Ethan and Joel, which was named as runner-up.
The third prize went to Japanese director Kore-Eda Hirokazu for the baby-swapping drama “Soshite Chichi Ni Naru” (Like Father, Like Son) while the best director award went to Mexico’s Amat Escalante for his brutal look at Mexico’s drug war, “Heli.”
American Bruce Dern, 76, won a best actor award in Alexander Payne’s road trip film “Nebraska,” beating out Michael Douglas, who was widely praised for his performance as flamboyant pianist Liberace in Steven Soderbergh’s “Behind the Candelabra.”
French actress Berenice Bejo (“The Artist”) won the best actress award in Iranian director Asghar Farhadi’s tense domestic drama “Le Passe” (The Past).
Before the ceremony, stars including Kim Novak and Laetitia Casta signed autographs and posed for photographers on the red carpet in blazing sunshine, a contrast to the festival’s opening ceremony on May 15 when umbrellas took over in the rain.
The awards ended the 2013 edition of the world’s largest film festival, where up to 40,000 film professionals also bought and sold titles on the bustling marketplace hidden away from the glitzy promotional circuit of parties and stunts.
The 66th annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 15 to 26 May 2013. Steven Spielberg was the head of the jury for the main competition. New Zealand film director Jane Campion was the head of the jury for the Cinéfondation and Short Film sections. French actress Audrey Tautou hosted the opening and closing ceremonies.
The 66th Cannes Film Festival will be remembered for its unseasonal weather. Above all there were the films: films about love, sex, violence, family breakup, and other emotional anguish.
A number of movies were praised for deviating from the Hollywood orthodoxy. Television was accepted as having had a positive influence on cinema.
Alan Schoenauer, a freelance French photographer covering Cannes since 1982, said: “It’s been an exceptional year with exceptional arrivals up the steps each night, and with the jury, the stars, and some amazing moments of emotion each time.”
While the attention of the public at large remained fixed on the stars and the films on offer, behind the scenes industry professionals did thousands of business deals.
