The 51st Cannes Film Fest was held May 13–24, 1998.
The Palme d’Or went to the Greek film, Theo Angelopoulos’s Mia aioniotita kai mia mera.
The festival opened with Primary Colors, directed by Mike Nichols, which was a failure in the US.
It closed with the trashy Godzilla, directed by Roland Emmerich.
Lulu on the Bridge, poorly directed by novelist Paul Auster, opened the Un Certain Regard.
Jury Members
Martin Scorsese (USA) (president)
- Alain Corneau (France)
- Chiara Mastroianni (France, Italy)
- Chen Kaige (China)
- Lena Olin (Sweden)
- MC Solaar (France)
- Michael Winterbottom (UK)
- Sigourney Weaver (USA)
- Winona Ryder (USA)
- Zoe Valdes (Cuba)
Jury Short Films
- Jean-Pierre Jeunet (France, short films) (president)
- Jaco Van Dormael (Belgium, short films)
- Emmanuelle Béart (France, short films)
- Arnaud Desplechin (France, short films)
- Ángela Molina (Spain, short films)
- FEATURE FILM COMPETITION
- Aprile by Nanni Moretti
- Ceux qui m’aiment prendront le train by Patrice Chéreau
- Claire Dolan by Lodge Kerrigan
- Corazón iluminado by Héctor Babenco
- Dance Me to My Song by Rolf de Heer
- Dong by Tsai Ming-liang
- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Terry Gilliam
- Festen by Thomas Vinterberg
- Hai shang hua by Hou Hsiao-Hsien
- Henry Fool by Hal Hartley
- Idioterne by Lars von Trier
- Illuminata by John Turturro
- Khrustalyov, mashinu! by Aleksei German
- L’école de la chair by Benoît Jacquot
- La classe de neige by Claude Miller
- La vendedora de rosas by Víctor Gaviria
- La vie rêvée des anges by Erick Zonca
- La vita è bella by Roberto Benigni
- Mia aioniotita kai mia mera by Theodoros Angelopoulos
- My Name Is Joe by Ken Loach
- The General by John Boorman
- Velvet Goldmine by Todd Haynes
Un Certain Regard
Un Certain Regard poster, original illustration by Kang Woohyun.
- À vendre by Laetitia Masson
- All the Little Animals by Jeremy Thomas
- Daun di Atas Bantal by Garin Nugroho
- Dis-moi que je rêve by Claude Mouriéras
- El evangelio de las maravillas by Arturo Ripstein
- Island, Alicia by Ken Yunome
- Kleine Teun by Alex van Warmerdam
- La Pomme by Samira Makhmalbaf
- Larmar och gör sig till by Ingmar Bergman
- Louise (Take 2) by Siegfried
- Love is the Devil by John Maybury
- Lulu on the Bridge by Paul Auster
- O Rio do Ouro by Paulo Rocha
- Os mutantes by Teresa Villaverde
- Plätze in Städten by Angela Schanelec
- Szenvedély by György Fehér
- Teatro di Guerra by Mario Martone
- The Apostle by Robert Duvall
- The Impostors by Stanley Tucci
- The Man Who Couldn’t Open Doors by Paul Arden
- The Power of Kangwon Province by Hong Sang-soo
- Kurpe by Laila Pakalniņa
- Tokyo Eyes by Jean-Pierre Limosin
- Tueur à gages by Darezhan Omirbaev
- Un 32 août sur terre by Denis Villeneuve
- Un soir apres la guerre by Rithy Panh
- Zero Effect by Jake Kasdan
Films out of competition
- Blues Brothers 2000 by John Landis
- Dark City by Alex Proyas
- Godzilla by Roland Emmerich
- Goodbye Lover by Roland Joffé
- Inquietude by Manoel de Oliveira
- Dr. Akagi by Shohei Imamura
- Primary Colors by Mike Nichols
- Tango by Carlos Saura
AWARDS
- Palme d’Or: Mia aioniotita kai mia mera by Theodoros Angelopoulos
- Grand Prize of the Jury: La vita è bella by Roberto Benigni
- Jury Prize: Tie
- Festen by Thomas Vinterberg
- La classe de neige by Claude Miller
- Best Actor: Peter Mullan for My Name Is Joe
- Best Actress: Élodie Bouchez & Natacha Régnier, La vie rêvée des anges
- Best Director: John Boorman for The General
- Short Film Palme d’Or: L’interview by Xavier Giannoli
- Best Screenplay: Henry Fool by Hal Hartley
- Best Artistic Contribution: Velvet Goldmine by Todd Haynes
- Technical Grand Prize: Tango by Vittorio Storaro
- Caméra d’Or: Slam by Marc Levin
- Cinéfondation Award:
- Jakub by Adam Guzinski
- The Sheep Thief by Asif Kapadia
- Mangwana by Manu Kurewa
- Un Certain Regard Award: Tueur à gages by Darezhan Omirbayev
- Mercedes-Benz Award: Seul contre tous by Gaspar Noé
- Canal+ Award: Por un infante difunto by Tinieblas González
- Kodak Short Film Award:
- Les corps ouverts by Sébastien Lifshitz
- Rue bleue by Chad Chenouga
- Gras Savoye Award: Rue bleue by Chad Chenouga
- FIPRESCI Prize:
- Dong by Tsai Ming-liang (Competition)
- Happiness by Todd Solondz (Parallel Sections)
- Prize of the Ecumenical Jury:
- Ingmar Bergman (Special award)
- Mia aioniotita kai mia mera by Theodoros Angelopoulos
- Award of the Youth:
- Foreign Film: Last Night by Don McKellar
- French Film: L’arrière pays by Jacques Nolot
- François Chalais Award: West Beyrouth by Ziad Doueiri
