The Un Certain Regard sidebar of the 70th Cannes Film Festival announced its winners on Saturday, with the jury awarding the top prize to A Man of Integrity (Lerd) by Mohammad Rasoulof.
The film is a drama about endemic corruption in provincial Iran and shows how it’s an uphill climb for a righteous man.
“We are proud to present an aesthetically diverse and beautiful palmares,” said Uma Thurman, Un Certain Regard jury president, to open the ceremony.
April’s Daughter by Michel Franco won the jury prize. Tim Roth executive produced the Spanish-language film by his Chronic director, which stars Julieta lead Emma Suarez.
Wind River’s Taylor Sheridan won the best direction award. Harvey Weinsten accepted the award for Sheridan, who made his debut behind the camera with the Wyoming-set mystery starring Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen. Reading his prepared marks, Sheridan thanked Renner, Olsen and his “mentor Peter Berg.”
“Lastly I want to thank the tribal council of the northern Arapahoe and eastern Shoshone nation’s for not only allowing me to tell this story but embracing me and lending me their assistance in every way asked,” Weinstein continued from Sheridan. “It is the great shame of my nation the manner in which it has treated the native inhabitants of North America. Sadly my government continues that shame with an insidious mixture of apathy and exploitation… what we must do as artists is scream about them with fists clenched.”
Weinstein continued with his own speech: “I would like to thank the jury for putting a spotlight on this issue. We get it. We will light the fuse and we will win the war. Barack Obama saw the pipeline and the issues that are going on in our country, most notably to native Americans, but our new administration thinks the opposite. This spotlight that you put on will change things.”
Jasmine Trinca of Sergio Castellito’s Fortunata (Lucky) won best actress and Mathieu Amalric took the screenwriting prize for Barbara.
Other jury members included filmmakers Joachim Lafosse and Mohamed Diab, actor Reda Kateb and Karlovy Vary festival director Karel Och.