2012 Cannes Film Festival announced the award winners tonight.
Responding to questions from journalists at the press conference that followed the closing ceremony, Nanni Moretti and his jurors readily commented on their selected winners.
In the preamble, the President of the Jury Nanni Moretti said that the jurors had got on particularly well together, that they had held eight meetings, and talked a lot about the films. He said that no film had been unanimously selected. Raoul Peck added that despite this, “everyone in their own way added to the opinions held by others” and that “somehow a middle ground was found”. “We all stand by our selection”, he said.
Nanni Moretti thanked his jurors one by one: “Ewan McGregor for his sincerity, Hiam Abbas for her passion, Jean-Paul Gaultier for his good humour that makes him the ideal audience member, Diane Kruger for her determination, Emmanuelle Devos for her kindness, Raoul Peck for his competence and his culture, Andrea Arnold for her enormous energy, and Alexander Payne for his knowledge of cinematic history.”
Nanni Moretti has also shared a personal reflection: “In this Competition, the filmmakers seemed more in love with their style than with their characters”.
When questioned on the choice of Post Tenebras Lux for the Award for Best Director, but also on the absence of Holy Motors among the award winners, Nanni Moretti said that three films had particularly divided the Jury: Post Tenebras Lux, Holy Motors, Paradise: Love. “We didn’t think it was right to look for unanimity and we had a lot of discussions. In the end, the first was awarded a prize, but not the other two.” Andrea Arnold was among the defenders of Post Tenebras Lux. She spoke of “a brave, tender, loving film, that faces life and its fragility.” Raoul Peck added, “this film really touched me emotionally and intellectually. I’ve rarely seen images with such force, such freedom, such sincerity. It connects us with the problems of today: being in a couple, love, children, the lack of communication, and also class struggle, with rare strength, and all this with incredible poetry.”
Regarding the Award for Best Actor, Ewan McGregor spoke of “a subtle performance”, while Nanni Moretti said that “the tension felt throughout the film owes as much to the direction as the lead actor.” On this subject he added that several jurors would have liked to have awarded prizes to the actors in Love, but it was not permitted by regulations: the three main prizes – the Palme d’Or, the Award for Best Director and the Grand Prix- must not be associated with an acting award.
Finally, a reporter noted that no prize was awarded to any of the seven American In Competition films, and asked if that was a reflection on the state of American cinema. “It’s a film festival, it’s not about giving awards to a particular country, but of choosing from among the selected films. It would be incorrect to generalise on the choice that has been made”, said Alexander Payne.
Winners of Cannes 2012:
Palme d’Or (Best Film): Love (Austria) by Michael Haneke
Grand Prix (Runner-up): Reality (Italy) by Matteo Garrone
Jury Prize (Third Prize): The Angels’ Share (Britain) by Ken Loach
Camera d’Or (Debut Film): Beasts of the Southern Wild (U.S.) by Benh Zeitlin
Best Director: Carlos Reygadas, Post Tenebras Lux (Mexico)
Best Screenplay: Beyond the Hills (Romania), Cristian Mungiu
Best Actress: Cosmina Stratan and Cristina Flutur, Beyond the Hills
Best Actor: Mads Mikkelsen, The Hunt
Press Conference with the Award Winners
After the presentation of the awards at the the closing ceremony, the award winners met for a press conference. One by one, they answered questions from journalists. Excerpts.
Michael Haneke, winner of the Palme d’or for Love (Amour): The story I tell is based on the promise my wife and I made to each other: not to separate in a situation like the one in the film. We see that all the time and it is a widespread problem. I experienced it in my own family and that is what pushed me to make the film Love.
Matteo Garrone, winner of the Grand Prix for Reality: I have not read much of what has been written. It was a surprise for me because I know there were many beautiful films. The Competition was tough but I am very happy because the Grand Prix will help the film to reach a wider audience.
Ken Loach, winner of the Jury Prize for The Angels’ Share: We realized that if we spent time with people like the ones in the film, they have such optimism that it makes us happy. To speak truthfully about things, you have to present them in the form of comedy.
Cristian Mungiu, Best Screenwriter for Beyond the Hills: I am very happy to have this award, a little surprised because it is the longest film in the Competition. I kept on changing the dialogues, the actresses helped me a lot, we tried to give it a continuity.
Carlos Reygadas, Best Director for Post Tenebras Lux: My work comes from the desire to create, to share, to find fraternity in the world with you. I was asked if I was not sad because many people did not like my film. For many filmmakers, the goal is to please. That is not my goal. Mine is to be able to express myself with absolute freedom and to be able to leave someone with something.
Mads Mikkelsen, Best Actor: It was a big moment for me and for the film. One cannot be a good actor in a mediocre film. During my stay, I didn’t have a chance to see other films, but there is a lot of work to do in Cannes! Put me in the Jury and I will come to see films!
Cosmina Stratan and Cristina Flutur, Best Actress: The rhythm is different in film; after two months of shooting, here we are with this award, it’s incredible.
Benh Zeitlin, winner of the Caméra d’or for Beasts Of the Southern Wild: For almost everyone who contributed to the film, it was their first film. We had worked very hard on small projects, short films in the past. We wanted to make this with friends, as a family. You never know, when you make a film, that success could come like this.
L. Rezan Yesbilas, winner of the Palme d’or – Short Film for Silent: It was amazing to be there, even before the ceremony. This is the second time that Turkey has won a Palm.