The 64th annual Cannes Film Fest was held May 11 to 22, 2011.
American star and two-time Oscar winner Robert De Niro served as the president of the jury for the main competition.
French filmmaker Michel Gondry headed the jury for the short film competition.
South Korean director Bong Joon-ho was the head of the jury for the Caméra d’Or prize, which is awarded to the best first film.
Midnight in Paris, written and directed by Woody Allen, opened the festival.
Mélanie Laurent hosted the opening and closing ceremonies.
Italian film director Bernardo Bertolucci was presented with the third Honorary Palme d’Or Award at the opening ceremony of the festival.
The Honorary Palme d’Or was supposed to presented annually after 2011, but it was not given again until the 2015 Cannes Film Fest.
Gus Van Sant’s Restless opened the Un Certain Regard section.
Jafar Panahi
Jailed Iranian film directors Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof were honored at the fest. Goodbye by Rasoulof and Panahi’s This Is Not a Film was screened at the festival, and Panahi was awarded the Carrosse d’Or.
Four female directors featured in the main competition: Australian Julia Leigh, Japan’s Naomi Kawase, Scottish director Lynne Ramsay and France’s Maïwenn Le Besco.
Von Trier Controversy
Danish film director Lars von Trier caused controversy with comments he made at the press conference of his film Melancholia. When he was asked about the relation between the influences of German Romanticism in the film and his own German heritage, the director made jokes about Jews and Nazis. He said he understood Adolf Hitler and admired the work of architect Albert Speer, and jokingly announced that he was a Nazi. Cannes Film Fest issued an official apology for the remarks the same day and clarified that Trier is not a Nazi or an antisemite, then declared the director “persona non grata” the following day. But the film remained in competition.
The Palme d’Or was won by the American film The Tree of Life directed by Terrence Malick. The film’s producers, Bill Pohlad and Sarah Green, accepted the prize on behalf of the reclusive Malick.
The Tree of Life is the first American film to win the Palme d’Or since Fahrenheit 9/11 in 2004. Head of the jury De Niro said it was difficult to choose a winner, but The Tree of Life “ultimately fit the bill,” explaining that “It had the size, the importance, the intention, whatever you want to call it, that seemed to fit the prize.”
OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
Opener
Midnight in Paris (out of competition) By Woody Allen
US
Closing Night
The Beloved (out of competition) Les Bien-aimés
Christophe Honoré
France
IN COMPETITION
The Skin I Live In
La piel que habito
Pedro Almodóvar
Spain
House of Tolerance
L’apollonide (Souvenirs de la maison close)
Bertrand Bonello
France
Pater
Alain Cavalier
France
Footnote
Hearat Shulayim
Joseph Cedar
Israel
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
Bir Zamanlar Anadolu’da
Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Turkey
The Kid with a Bike
Le Gamin au vélo
Dardenne brothers
Belgium
The Artist
Michel Hazanavicius
France
Le Havre
Aki Kaurismäki
Finland
Hanezu
Naomi Kawase
Japan
Sleeping Beauty*
Julia Leigh
Australia
Polisse
Maïwenn Le Besco
France
The Tree of Life by Terrence Malick
US
The Source (La source des femmes)
Radu Mihăileanu
France
Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai
Takashi Miike
Japan
We Have a Pope (Habemus Papam)
Nanni Moretti
Italy
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lynne Ramsay
UK
Michael*
Markus Schleinzer
Austria
This Must Be the Place
Paolo Sorrentino
Italy, France, Ireland
Melancholia
Lars von Trier
Denmark
Drive
Nicolas Winding Refn
US
UN CERTAIN REGARD
The Hunter
Охотник / Okhotnik
Bakur Bakuradze
Russia
Stopped on Track †
Halt auf freier Strecke
Andreas Dresen
Germany
Outside Satan
Hors Satan
Bruno Dumont
France
Martha Marcy May Marlene*
Sean Durkin
US
The Snows of Kilimanjaro
Les Neiges du Kilimandjaro
Robert Guédiguian
France
Beauty
Skoonheid
Oliver Hermanus
South Africa
The Day He Arrives
Hong Sang-soo
South Korea
Bonsai
Cristián Jiménez
Chile
Tatsumi
Eric Khoo
Singapore
Arirang †
Kim Ki-duk
South Korea
Where Do We Go Now? by Nadine Labaki
Lebanon
Loverboy
Cătălin Mitulescu
Romania
The Yellow Sea
Na Hong-jin
South Korea
Miss Bala
Gerardo Naranjo
Mexico
Hard Labor*
Trabalhar Cansa
Juliana Rojas and Marco Dutra
Brazil
Restless by Gus Van Sant
US
The Minister
L’Exercice de l’État
Pierre Schöller
France
Toomelah by Ivan Sen
Australia
Oslo, 31 August by Joachim Trier
Norway
Elena
Andrey Zvyagintsev
Russia
Goodbye
Mohammad Rasoulof
Iran
OUT OF COMPETITION
Midnight in Paris by Woody Allen
US
The Conquest
La Conquête
Xavier Durringer
France
The Beaver
Jodie Foster
US
The Beloved
Les Bien-aimés
Christophe Honoré
France
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Rob Marshall
US
Bollywood: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Jeff Zimbalist
India
MIDNIGHT SCREENINGS
Wu Xia
Peter Chan
Hong Kong
Days of Grace*
Everardo Gout
Mexico
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
18 Days
Tamantashar yom
Ahmad Abdallah, Mariam Abou Ouf, Kamla Abu Zikri, Ahmed Alaa, Mohamed Ali, Sherif Arafa, Sherif El Bendary, Marwan Hamed, Khaled Marei and Yousry Nasrallah
Egypt
Out of Bounds*
Labrador
Frederikke Aspöck
Denmark
No More Fear*
La khaoufa baada al’yaoum
Mourad Ben Cheikh
Tunisia
Duch, Master of the Forges of Hell
Le Maître des forges de l’Enfer
Rithy Panh
France
Michel Petrucciani
Michael Radford
France
Leader-Sheep
Tous au Larzac
Christian Rouaud
France
The Big Fix
Rebecca Tickell and Josh Tickell
US
DIRECTORS FORTNIGHT
La Fée
N/A
Dominique Abel, Bruno Romy and Fiona Gordon
Belgium
The Silver Cliff
O Abismo Prateado
Karim Aïnouz
Brazil
Code Blue
N/A
Urszula Antoniak
Netherlands
Blue Bird
N/A
Gust Van Den Berghe
Belgium
The Other Side of Sleep*
N/A
Rebecca Daly
Ireland
End of Silence*
La Fin du silence
Roland Edzard
France
Heat Wave*
Après le sud
Jean-Jacques Jauffret
France
Mushrooms
Chatrak
Vimukthi Jayasundara
India
Return*
N/A
Liza Johnson
United States
The Island
Ostrovat (Островът)
Kamen Kalev
Bulgaria
Sur la planche
Leila Kilani
Morocco
Porfirio
Alejandro Landes
Colombia
The Giants †
Les Géants
Bouli Lanners
Belgium
Breathing*
Atmen
Karl Markovics
Austria
Iris in Bloom*
En ville
Valérie Mrejen and Bertrand Schefer
France
Play
N/A
Ruben Östlund
Sweden
The Silence of Joan
Jeanne captive
Philippe Ramos
France
Corpo Celeste*
N/A
Alice Rohrwacher
Italy
Volcano*
N/A
Runar Runarsson
Iceland
Palawan Fate
Busong
Auraeus Solito
Philippines
Impardonnables
N/A
André Téchiné
France
Special Screenings
English title
Original title
Director(s)
Country
El velador
N/A
Natalia Almada
United States
Les jeunes gens modernes
Jérôme de Missolz and Jean-François Sanz
France
Guilty of Romance
Koi no Tsumi
Sion Sono
Japan
Back Door Channels: The Price of Peace
N/A
Harry Hunkele
US
La nuit elles dansent
Isabelle Lavigne and Stéphane Thibault
Canada
Attila Till
Hungary
INTERNATIONAL CRITICS WEEK
Declaration of War, directed by Valérie Donzelli, and Bachelor Days Are Over, directed by Katia Lewkowicz, were selected as the opening and closing films of the Semaine de la Critique section.
Las Acacias*
Las Acacias
Pablo Giorgelli
Argentina, Spain
Avé*
Konstantin Bojanov
Bulgaria, France
17 Girls*
Delphine Coulin and Muriel Coulin
France
Sauna on the Moon
Zou Peng
China
The Slut*
הנותנת Hanotenet
Hagar Ben-Asher
Israel, Germany
Snowtown*
Justin Kurzel
Australia
Take Shelter †
Jeff Nichols
US
My Little Princess*
My Little Princess
Eva Ionesco
France
To Die By Your Side
Mourir auprès de toi
Spike Jonze and Simon Cahn
France
Walk Away Renee
Jonathan Caouette
US, France
Bachelor Days Are Over*
Pourquoi tu pleures?
Katia Lewkowicz
France
Cannes Classics
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Stanley Kubrick
United States, United Kingdom
Chronicle of a Summer (1960)
Chronique d’un été
Jean Rouch and Edgar Morin
France
A Trip to the Moon (1902)
Le Voyage dans la lune
Georges Méliès
France
The Machine to Kill Bad People (1952)
La macchina ammazzacattivi
Roberto Rossellini
Italy
A Bronx Tale (1993)
Robert De Niro
United States
The Conformist (1970)
Il Conformista
Bernardo Bertolucci
Italy
Sugar Cane Alley (1983)
Rue Cases-Négres
Euzhan Palcy
France
Puzzle of a Downfall Child (1970)
Jerry Schatzberg
United States
The Law of the Border (1966)
Hudutların Kanunu
Ömer Lütfi Akad
Turkey
No Man’s Land (1931)
Niemandsland
Victor Trivas
Germany
Children of Paradise (1945)
Les Enfants du paradis
Marcel Carné
France
Despair (1978)
Despair – Eine Reise ins Licht
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
West Germany
Le Sauvage (1975)
Jean-Paul Rappeneau
France
The Assassin (1961)
L’assassino
Elio Petri
Italy
Documentaries
The Look
Angelina Maccarone
Germany, France
Corman’s World: Exploits Of A Hollywood Rebel*
Alex Stapleton
US
Belmondo, itinéraire…
Vincent Perrot
France
Kurosawa’s Way
Catherine Cadou
France
Once Upon a Time… A Clockwork Orange
Il était une fois… Orange mécanique
Antoine de Gaudemar
France
Special screenings
The Postman
Al-Bostagui
Hussein Kamal
Egypt
Jury International competition
Robert De Niro, American actor (President
Jude Law, English actor
Uma Thurman, American actress
Martina Gusmán, Argentine actress and producer
Nansun Shi, Hong Kong producer
Linn Ullmann, Norwegian critic and writer
Olivier Assayas, French director
Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Chadian director
Johnnie To, Hong Kong director and producer
Jury Un Certain Regard
Emir Kusturica, Serbian director (President)
Élodie Bouchez, French actress
Peter Bradshaw, British critic
Geoffrey Gilmore, Tribeca Enterprises
Daniela Michel, Mexican director of the Morelia Festival
Cinéfondation and short films
Michel Gondry, French director (President)
Julie Gayet, French actress and producer
Jessica Hausner, Austrian director and producer
Corneliu Porumboiu, Romanian director
João Pedro Rodrigues, Portuguese director
Jury Camera d’Or
Bong Joon-ho, South Korean director (President)
Danièle Heyman, French critic
Eva Vezer, Hungarian Head of Magyar Filmunio
Robert Alazraki, French cinematographer
Daniel Colland, French manager of Cinedia laboratory
Jacques Maillot, French director
Alex Masson, French critic
Jury International Critics’ Week
Nespresso Grand Prize
Lee Chang-dong, South Korean film director (President)
Scott Foundas, American film critic
Nick James, English film critic
Sergio Wolf, Argentinian film critic and curator
Cristina Piccino, Italian film critic
AWARDS
Official Selection
In Competition
Palme d’Or – The Tree of Life by Terrence Malick
Grand Prix – Tie
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia by Nuri Bilge Ceylan and The Kid with a Bike by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
Prix de la mise en scène – Nicolas Winding Refn for Drive
Prix du scénario – Footnote by Joseph Cedar
Jury Prize – Polisse by Maïwenn
Best Actress: Kirsten Dunst for Melancholia
Best Actor: Jean Dujardin for The Artist
Camera d’Or – Las Acacias by Pablo Giorgelli
Palme d’Or du court métrage – Cross by Maryna Vroda
Prix du Jury du court métrage – Swimsuit 46 by Wannes Destoop
Un Certain Regard
Prize of Un Certain Regard – Arirang by Kim Ki-duk and Stopped on Track by Andreas Dresen
Special Jury Prize – Elena by Andrey Zvyagintsev
Directing Prize – Mohammad Rasoulov for Goodbye
Cinéfondation
1st Prize – The Letter by Doroteya Droumeva
2nd Prize – Drari by Kamal Nazraq
3rd Prize – Fly by Night by Son Tae-gyum
Critics’ Week
Grand Prix Nespresso – Take Shelter by Jeff Nichols
Special Mention from the Jury President – Snowtown by Justin Kurzel
Prix SACD – Take Shelter by Jeff Nichols
Prix SACD (Directors’ Fortnight) – The Giants by Bouli Lanners
ACID/CCAS Prize – Las Acacias by Pablo Giorgelli
Very Young Critics Prize – Las Acacias by Pablo Giorgelli
Independent awards
FIPRESCI Awards[34]
In Competition – Le Havre by Aki Kaurismäki
Un Certain Regard – The Minister by Pierre Schöller
Critics’ Week or Directors’ Fortnight – Take Shelter by Jeff Nichols
Ecumenical Jury
Prize of the Ecumenical Jury – This Must Be the Place by Paolo Sorrentino
Special Mention – Le Havre by Aki Kaurismäki
Special Mention – Where Do We Go Now? by Nadine Labaki
Palm Dog
Palm Dog Award – Uggy for The Artist
Special Jury Prize – Laika for Le Havre
Queer Palm
Queer Palm Award for Beauty by Olivier Hermanus
International Confederation of Art Cinemas
Art Cinema Award for The Giants by Bouli Lanners
