This year at the Cannes Film Festival, the Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki will be honored by the French directors’ society with the Carrosse d’Or, also know as the Golden Coach prize.
Kaurismaki, known for his rebellious deadpan slapstick with films like ‘Leningrad Cowboys Go America’ and ‘I Hired a Contract Killer,’ has amassed an impressive body of work throughout his career.
In an announcement, organizers described their reasoning for selecting Kaurismaki, “Your stories are inspired fables that tell the forgotten… often melancholic but never overwhelming… made with precision and grandeur, poetry, and even burlesque.”
Previous winners include Agnes Varda, Clint Eastwood, Chinese director Jia Zhangke, and Nuri Bilge Ceylan.
The award will be handed out during the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar, which runs May 12-22.