Glamorous closing ceremony in Cannes: George Lucas received the honorary Palme d’Or, and Sean Baker won the top prize for “Anora”.
The Cannes Film Festival came to an end on the evening of May 25 after nearly two weeks. During the closing ceremony, the jury, chaired by director Greta Gerwig, 40, awarded the coveted prizes. Twenty-two films were in competition. The most important prize, the Palme d’Or, was won by US director Sean Baker, 53, for his film “Anora,” a wild, tumultuous romance between an exotic dancer (Mikey Madison) and the super-rich son of a Russian oligarch (Mark Eydelshteyn). The last American filmmaker to receive the top prize at Cannes was Terrence Malick, 80, in 2011 for “The Tree of Life.”
Winner Dedicates His Prize to Sex Workers
“Anora” is Baker’s third film to premiere in Cannes, following “The Florida Project” and “Red Rocket.” The 53-year-old accepted the prize from his colleague Francis Ford Coppola, 85, who has won the Palme d’Or twice and this year went home empty-handed for “Megalopolis.” Coppola also presented an honorary Palme d’Or to his friend and legendary colleague George Lucas, 80, whom he called his “little brother,” for his lifetime achievement.
Baker dedicated his prize to “all sex workers, past, present, and future,” emphasizing the importance of “making films intended for theatrical release.” In his acceptance speech, he stated, “Watching a movie with others in a theater is a great communal experience. We share laughter, sadness, anger, fear, and hopefully experience catharsis with our friends and strangers. That’s why I say the future of cinema is where it began: in the theater.”
Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia, 38, received the Grand Prix—the festival’s second-highest award—for “All We Imagine as Light.” It is the first Indian film in 30 years to be selected for the competition. The film focuses on the relationships between three women from Mumbai of different ages and social classes.
The award for Best Screenplay went to French director Coralie Fargeat, 48, for the “bold, beautifully crazy” beauty surgery horror show “The Substance,” as described by jury member Eva Green, 43. Demi Moore, 61, plays a washed-up Hollywood beauty, and Margaret Qualley, 29, plays her younger, perfect doppelgänger.
Collective Award for Best Actresses
Moore was considered a favorite in the Best Actress category. However, the jury surprisingly expanded this to a collective award to celebrate what Lily Gladstone, 37, described as “the harmony of sisterhood” in “Emilia Pérez.” The musical, set in Mexico and directed by former Palme d’Or winner Jacques Audiard, 72, tells the story of a cartel boss who disappears to reemerge as a woman. Four actresses were awarded: Zoe Saldaña, 45, Selena Gomez, 31, Adriana Paz, 44, and Karla Sofía Gascón, 52. The film also won the Jury Prize.
The Best Actor award went to Jesse Plemons, 36, who plays three roles in “Kinds of Kindness,” a surrealist satire by “Poor Things” director Yorgos Lanthimos, 50—a submissive businessman, a grieving policeman, and a bisexual cult member.
Special Prize for Mohammad Rasoulof
The jury also created a special prize in 2024—greeted with enthusiastic standing ovations on Saturday night—for Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof, 52. It was unclear for a long time whether he would even be able to attend Cannes, but he eventually did so despite great personal risk. He had fled Iran to escape an eight-year prison sentence for making the political drama “The Seed of the Sacred Fig.” The three-hour film examines the country’s recent women’s and freedom movement through the lens of a middle-class family whose two daughters question their father’s role in the regime.
Portuguese filmmaker Miguel Gomes, 52, won the Best Director award for “Grand Tour.” The work mixes black-and-white and color footage, historical reenactments, and contemporary anthropological insights to tell the story of a British official from the early 20th century who tries to escape his fiancée by traveling from one Asian country to another.
The Camera d’Or for Best First Film went to “Armand” by Norwegian director Halfdan Ullman Tondel (born 1990). The production “Mongrel” by Chiang Wei Liang and You Qiao Yin received a special mention.
“Call My Agent” star Camille Cottin, 45, hosted the awards ceremony. The jury, chaired by Greta Gerwig, included Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona, 49, Turkish actress and screenwriter Ebru Ceylan, 48, Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino, 54, American actress Lily Gladstone, Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, 61, Lebanese actress and director Nadine Labaki, 50, and French stars Eva Green and Omar Sy, 46. At the opening of the festival, actress Meryl Streep, 74, was honored with the Palme d’Or for her lifetime achievement.
