Steven Spielberg and the rest of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival jury announced the winners today. They selected the lesbian drama Blue Is the Warmest Color for the top award, the Palme d'Or. Spielberg remarked:
"For me the film is a great love story that made all of feel like we were privileged to be flies on the wall, to be invited into this story of deep love and deep heartbreak."
Inside Llewyn Davis, the latest from the Coen brothers, won the runner-up Grand Prix---Hirokazu Koreeda's Like Father, Like Son won the third-place Prix du Jury. Bruce Dern won Best Actor for his performance in Alexander Payne's Nebraska. The Artist charmer Bérénice Bejo won Best Actress as the lead in The Past. Hit the jump for the full list of winners.
Palme d’Or
La Vie d’Adèle (Blue is the Warmest Color)
Abdellatif Kechiche with Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux, France
Grand Prix
Inside Llewyn Davis
Joel and Ethan Coen
Prix du Jury
Like Father, Like Son
Hirokazu Koreeda
Prix de la Mise en Scène (Best Director)
Amat Escalante
Heli
Prix du Scénario (Best Screenplay)
Jia Zhangke
A Touch of Sin
Prix d’interprétation masculine (Best Actor)
Bruce Dern
Nebraska
Prix d’interprétation feminine (Best Actress)
Bérénice Bejo
The Past
Here are Spielberg's full comments on choosing Blue Is the Warmest Color [via the Huffington Post]:
For me the film is a great love story that made all of feel like we were privileged to be flies on the wall, to be invited into this story of deep love and deep heartbreak. The director did not put any constraints on the narrative and we were absolutely spellbound by the amazing performances of the two actresses, and especially the way the director observed his characters and just let the characters breathe. ...
Whether it plays in the US was not a criterion for our choices. We just liked that someone had the courage to tell the story. Politics were not in the room with us. I think this film carries a very positive message. It has a perfect choice of actresses and Kechiche is an incredibly observant and sensitive film maker.