He noted: “Look, if we had voted the day before, the day later, it might have been different. We treasure and value and protect both films equally in our hearts. And if one had to receive one prize over the other, it’s for .000001% of having to make some kind of decision.”

Payne’s fellow jury members during this year’s festival included Oscar-nominated Brazilian actress Fernanda Torres (“I’m Still Here”), Iranian auteur Mohammad Rasoulof (“The Seed of the Sacred Fig”), Palme d’Or-winning Romanian director-writer Cristian Mungiu (“4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days”), French director Stéphane Brizé (“Out of Season”), Italian director Maura Delpero (“Vermiglio”) and Chinese actor-producer Zhao Tao (“Caught by the Tides”).