CANNES, FRANCE. May 25, 2019. South Korean director Bong Joon-Ho, winner of the Palme d'Or. | taniavolobueva / Shutterstock.com

The 72nd Festival de Cannes concluded on May 25, 2019 amid much fanfare from the expecting public. Notables include Mati Diop as the first female director of African descent to compete on her own for the Palme d’Or, a return to form for Quentin Tarantino with his interpretation of the Manson murders, and Ken Loach’s 14th nomination at Cannes seeking for a third win. Needless to say, the Croisette was abuzz with fans and cinephiles alike, all patiently waiting for the presentation of the prestigious Palme d’Or. Here is a recap of the Official Selection in competition for the prize:

English title

Original title

Director(s)

Production country

Atlantics

Atlantique

Mati Diop

Senegal, France, Belgium

Bacurau

Kleber Mendonça Filho, Juliano Dornelles

Brazil

The Dead Don’t Die

Jim Jarmusch

United States

Frankie

Ira Sachs

United States, France, Portugal, Belgium

A Hidden Life

Terrence Malick

United States, Germany

It Must Be Heaven

Elia Suleiman

France, Canada

Little Joe

Jessica Hausner

Austria, Germany, United Kingdom

Matthias & Maxime

Matthias et Maxime

Xavier Dolan

Canada

Les Misérables

Ladj Ly

France

Mektoub, My Love: Intermezzo

Abdellatif Kechiche

France

Oh Mercy!

Roubaix, une lumière

Arnaud Desplechin

France

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Quentin Tarantino

United States

Pain and Glory

Dolor y gloria

Pedro Almodóvar

Spain

Parasite

기생충

Bong Joon-ho

South Korea

Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Portrait de la jeune fille en feu

Céline Sciamma

France

Sibyl

Justine Triet

France

Sorry We Missed You

Ken Loach

United Kingdom

The Traitor

Il traditore

Marco Bellocchio

Italy

The Whistlers

La Gomera

Corneliu Porumboiu

Romania, France, Germany

The Wild Goose Lake

南方车站的聚会

Diao Yinan

China

Young Ahmed

Le Jeune Ahmed

Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne

Belgium

Source: Wikipedia

The Palme d’Or of 2019 is awarded to Parasite, a dark comedy about the twisted relationship between two families of polar opposite socio-economic class, directed by Bong Joon-ho. The Grand Prix, Cannes’ equivalent to second prize, is given to Atlantics, making Mati Diop the first black female award recipient in the festival’s history. Both films are significant in the sense that they approach themes of social inequality and justice, signalling perhaps the start of a wave of future films addressing similar issues to appear in the upcoming years in response to current global uncertainties. Whatever is in store for us will certainly be an eye-opening experience, and an entertaining one as well.

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