The 2021 Cannes Film Festival, with Spike Lee serving as president of the jury, awarded the prestigious Palme d’Or to Julia Ducournau’s “Titane.”
Ducournau becomes only the second female director to win the Palme d’Or after Jane Campion did it in 1993 for “The Piano.” Her “Titane” is very much a midnight movie which, in my review, I stated, is “sure to become a cult classic.” I didn’t expect it to win the big prize at the time, but this is nevertheless a pleasant surprise. It becomes the second straight genre film to win Cannes top award after Bong Joon-ho won the Palme in 2019 for “Parasite.”
The rest of the jury featured director Mati Diop, singer/songwriter Mylène Farmer, actress/director Maggie Gyllenhaal, writer/director Jessica Hausner, actress/director Mélanie Laurent, writer/director Kleber Mendonça Filho, actor Tahar Rahim, and actor Song Kang-ho. Find the full list of winners below.
Palme d’Or: “Titane”
Grand Prix: (tie) “A Hero” and “Compartment No. 6”
Jury Prize: (tie): “Ahed’s Knee” and “Memoria”
Best Actress: Renate Reinsve, “The Worst Person in the World”
Best Actor: Caleb Landry Jones, “Nitram”
Best Director: Leos Carax, “Annette”
Best Screenplay: Ryusuke Hamaguchi, “Drive My Car”
Camera d’Or: “Murina” by Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović
Short Film Palme d’Or: Tian Xia Wu Ya by Tang Yi
Special Jury Mention for Short Film: “Ceu de Agosto” by Jasmin Tenucci