The 34th Cannes Film Fest was held on May 13–27, 1981.
The Palme d’Or went to the Człowiek z żelaza by Andrzej Wajda.
The festival closed with Honeysuckle Rose, directed by Jerry Schatzberg.
Jury Members
- Jacques Deray (France) (jury president)
- Ellen Burstyn (USA)
- Jean-Claude Carrière (France)
- Robert Chazal (France)
- Attilio D’Onofrio (Italy)
- Christian Defaye (Switzerland) (journalist)
- Carlos Diegues (Brazil)
- Antonio Gala (Spain)
- Andrey Petrov (Soviet Union)
- Douglas Slocombe (UK)
Feature film competition
- Beau-père by Bertrand Blier
- Chariots of Fire by Hugh Hudson
- Cserepek by István Gaál
- Człowiek z żelaza by Andrzej Wajda
- Engel aus Eisen by Thomas Brasch
- Excalibur by John Boorman
- Faktas by Almantas Grikevičius
- Heaven’s Gate by Michael Cimino
- La pelle by Liliana Cavani
- La tragedia di un uomo ridicolo by Bernardo Bertolucci
- Les Années lumière by Alain Tanner
- Les Uns et les Autres by Claude Lelouch
- Looks and Smiles by Ken Loach
- Mephisto by István Szabó
- Montenegro by Dušan Makavejev
- Neige by Juliet Berto
- Passione d’amore by Ettore Scola
- Patrimonio nacional by Luis García Berlanga
- Possession by Andrzej Żuławski
- Quartet by James Ivory
- Thief (Violent Streets) by Michael Mann
- Tulipää by Pirjo Honkasalo and Pekka Lehto
Un Certain Regard
- A tani by Péter Bacsó
- Elef Nishikot K’tanot by Mira Recanati
- Cerromaior by Luís Filipe Rocha
- Dios los cría…by Jacobo Morales
- Eijanaika by Shohei Imamura
- Eu Te Amo by Arnaldo Jabor
- Golyamoto noshtno kapane by Binka Zhelyazkova
- Ko to tamo peva by Slobodan Šijan
- Let There Be Light by John Huston
- Memoirs of a Survivor by David Gladwell
- Mur murs by Agnès Varda
- Samo jednom se ljubi by Rajko Grlić
- Satah Se Uthata Aadmi by Mani Kaul
- Un moment de bonheur by Yves Laumet
Films out of competition
- Anima – Symphonie phantastique by Titus Leber
- Bodas de sangre by Carlos Saura
- Da nao tian gong by Wan Laiming
- From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China by Murray Lerner
- Hands Up! by Jerzy Skolimowski
- Honeysuckle Rose by Jerry Schatzberg
- Ku nao ren de xiao by Yimin Deng, Yanjin Yang
- La Mouche (known as A Légy or The Fly) by Ferenc Rofusz
- Malu tianshi by Mu-jih Yuan
- The Postman Always Rings Twice by Bob Rafelson
- This Is Elvis by Malcolm Leo, Andrew Solt
- Tre fratelli by Francesco Rosi
Awards
Palme d’Or: Człowiek z żelaza by Andrzej Wajda
- Grand Prix: Les Années lumière by Alain Tanner
- Best Actor: Ugo Tognazzi for La tragedia di un uomo ridicolo
- Best Actress: Isabelle Adjani for Quartet and Possession
- Best Supporting Actor: Ian Holm for Chariots of Fire
- Best Supporting Actress: Yelena Solovey for Faktas
- Best Screenplay: István Szabó for Mephisto
- Best Artistic Contribution: Excalibur by John Boorman
- Technical Grand Prize: Les Uns et les Autres for the sound quality
- Short Film Palme d’Or: Moto Perpetuo by Béla Vajda
- Jury Prize – Best Short Film:
- Le Rat by Elisabeth Huppert
- Zea by André Leduc
- Caméra d’Or: Desperado City by Vadim Glowna
- Young Cinema Award:
- Looks and Smiles by Ken Loach
- Neige by Juliet Berto and Jean-Henri Roger
- ‘La Chance de Cannes’ Award: Prends 10000 balles et casse-toi by Mahmoud Zemmouri
- FIPRESCI Prize:
- Malou by Jeanine Meerapfel
- Mephisto by István Szabó
- Prize of the Ecumenical Jury: Człowiek z żelaza by Andrzej Wajda
- Prize of the Ecumenical Jury – Special Mention:
- Chariots of Fire by Hugh Hudson
- Looks and Smiles by Ken Loach
