2015 Cannes Film Festival Recap | Burning Questions Answered!


Who was on the jury? 
Among the big stars serving on jury duty for the Main Competition were the The Coen Brothers, actors Jake Gyllenhaal, Sophie Marceau and Sienna Miller, singer-songwriter Rokia Traore and directors Xavier Dolan (one of last year’s big winners) and Guillermo del Toro.

Who’s featured on the official poster? 
That would be Swedish actress and Hollywood icon, Ingrid Bergman.

Which film cemented itself as the early Oscar contender for Best Picture?
"Carol" starring Oscar winner Cate Blanchett and nominee Rooney Mara easily captured that slot. In the adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's novel of the same name, Mara plays a department store clerk who embarks on a love affair with the married and more established Carol (Blanchett).

"Carol" was the first film screened at the festival to break out as a contender in the early talk of Oscar fodder and it held onto that position despite premiering towards the beginning of the fete, handily staving off other hopefuls. Interestingly of the film's two stars, it was only Mara who emerged with awards recognition. Don't count Blanchett out though. What will be interesting to watch for as Oscar season grows closer is in which respective category, the studio will campaign the actresses in.

Were any non-screened high-profile movies sold?
Miles Teller's boxing biopic "Bleed for This", which co-stars Aaron Eckhart and tells the true story of boxer Vinny Paziezna. Another hot seller was Tom Ford's buzzy thriller "Nocturnal Animals" starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Amy Adams.

Which high-profile premiere, delivered on the hype?
"Macbeth", the Oscar hopeful and long buzzed about adaptation finally premiered. Michael Fassbender and Marion Cottillard quickly soared up the ranks of Oscar contenders for their performances.

Besides the winners, which movies are worth looking forward to the most? 
Director Hirokazu Koreeda's follow-up to his outstanding family drama "Like Father, Like Son" made a dazzling impression amongst Cannes attendees. "Our Little Sister", tells the tale of a trio of sisters whose lives are simultaneously shaken by the arrival of their 13 year old half-sister. Koreeda's previous work is one of the best movies of the decade and if "Our Little Sister" possesses even a tenth of that movie's power, viewers will be in for a major treat.

"Sicario", Denis Villeneuve’s latest, stars Emily Blunt as an idealistic FBI agent pushed to the bounds of her moral and ethical limits when she joins a top secret CIA op to bring down the boss of a drug cartel. Her bosses are played by Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin. Let's hope this movie delivers more definitive storytelling than Villeneuve’s previous effort, "Enemy". 

Star studded fantasy film "Tale of Tales" made an impact among festival goers. Matteo Garrone's adaptation of Giambattista Basile’s “Pentemerone” is led by Selma Hayek and Vincent Cassel. Both actors involvement makes this a movie worth looking out for. Hopefully it’s more akin to 2001’s “Brotherhood of the Wolf” than 2005’s “The Brothers Grimm”.

Also worthy of major interest was the French-language, home invasion thriller "Disorder" (formerly titled "Maryland") which screened in the Un Certain Regard. Directed by Alice Winocour, it stars Matthias Schoenaerts as a soldier suffering from PTSD who takes a job working as the personal security guard for the wife (Diane Kruger) and son of a wealthy businessman. IFC/Sundance Selects quickly snapped up the US distribution rights.

Finally there was Paulo Sorrentino's drama "Youth"; starring veteran thesps Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel and Jane Fonda. Caine made his first appearance at the fete in 50 years to support the film. His wait proved fruitful as the film garnered an incredibly enthusiastic standing ovation that according to several news sources, lasted well over 10 minutes, making it one of (if not the) longest of the festival.

Which movies walked away the big winners? 
The Palme d’Or (1st place) was bestowed upon the refugee drama “Dheepan”.  

The Grand Prix (2nd place) went to the holocaust drama “Son of Saul”.

The Jury Prize (3rd place) to the dark romantic comedy “The Lobster”.

Best Director went to Hou Hsiao-hsien for the martial arts epic "The Assassin".

Best Screenplay to Michel Franco for “Chronic”.

The Best Actress prize was a tie between Rooney Mara for “Carol” and Emmanuelle Bercot for “Mon roi”.

The sole winner for Best Actor was Vincent Lindon for “The Measure of a Man”.

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