The director of ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ is only the third woman to ever win the award.
This year’s Cannes Film Festival wrapped up last Saturday with the awarding of its biggest prizes.
French director Justine Triet won the Palme d’Or for her film Anatomy of a Fall, beating out 20 other competing films. She commented that being only the third woman to win is “surprising” but that it was inspiring for the future.
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“We’re at the dawn of deep-seated changes in this respect,” said the director. She also used her acceptance speech to criticize the French government’s response to the protest against pension reforms in the country.
Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall is a courtroom thriller which tells the story of a writer (played by Sandra Hüller) trying to prove her innocence regarding her husband’s death.
Previously, Jane Campion won the Palme d’Or in 1993 for The Piano while Julia Ducournau took the prize in 2021 for Titane. Ducournau also served on the jury for this year’s festival.
Jane Fonda, who presented Triet with the award, noted that there was a “historic” number of women (seven) with films competing for the top honor. “We have a long way to go. But still, we have to celebrate change when it happens,” said the film icon.
The festival’s other awardees
The Grand Prix, the second-highest prize, was awarded to British director Jonathan Glazer for The Zone of Interest. The film is an adaptation of Martin Amis’ novel about a family living next to Auschwitz.
The best actor award went to Japan’s Koji Yakusho for his role in Perfect Days directed by Wim Wenders. Meanwhile, Turkey’s Merve Dizdar was named best actress for About Dry Grasses.
Vietnamese-French director Tran Anh Hung won best director for The Pot-au-Feu, a historical drama set in 1885 about the romance between a cook and the gourmet she works for.
Harrison Ford also received an honorary Palme d’Or, saying he was “deeply moved and humbled” about the award.
This year’s Cannes was celebrated in full swing with many Hollywood legends in attendance, including Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Quentin Tarantino, Isabella Rossellini, and Sean Penn.
Banner image via Instagram @festivaldecannes.
