The hype out of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, for those far-flung and on the ground, tells one story: This was among the weaker lineups in recent memory.
Sure, huge stories broke out of the festival, from Francis Ford Coppola’s distribution push for his self-funded, decades-in-the-making passion project “Megalopolis” to Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof fleeing his home country after being sentenced to eight years in prison, finally making it to Cannes with his new film “The Seed of the Sacred Fig.” This year also marked the return of fest favorite Andrea Arnold, who’s previously won the Jury Prize three times with “Red Road,” “Fish Tank,” and “American Honey” but has yet to nab the Palme d’Or. Will her competition entry “Bird” change her luck?
Elsewhere in the official selection, Un Certain Regard already handed out its prizes on Friday from a jury led by Xavier Dolan and including Maïmouna Doucouré, Asmae El Moudir, Vicky Krieps, and Todd McCarthy. Among the top winners were Roberto Minervini (“The Damned”) and Rungano Nyoni (“On Becoming a Guinea Fowl”) tying for Best Director, “L’Histoire De Souleymane” (Jury Prize), and “Black Dog” (Un Certain Regard Prize). But Saturday’s ceremony marks the announcement of the festival’s main prizes, including the Palme d’Or.
This year’s Cannes wasn’t without its potential crises, with rumors of a French #MeToo scandal heightening and a possible labor action by Cannes employees. Alas, the show went on, and these circumstances didn’t impact the programming. But — largely due to last year’s strikes impacting production and release dates — 2024 Cannes fare hasn’t yet yielded a breakout on the level of “Anatomy of a Fall,” which won the 2023 Palme before later winning an Oscar. One of the festival’s biggest shocks came with Coralie Forgeat’s “The Substance,” a body horror satire that should be a hit once MUBI releases the film theatrically.
Sean Baker’s “Anora” took the Palais by storm, receiving a rousing standing ovation, as well as some of the fest’s highest marks from critics, making it a clear Cannes awards contender. Meanwhile, Payal Kapadia — who won Cannes’ Golden Eye Award in 2021 for “A Night of Knowing Nothing” — also stunned audiences with her new film “All We Imagine as Light.” Her competition premiere marks the first Indian film in 30 years to contend for the Palme, and a possible win would mark the first time a film from India has ever done so. Kapadia would also become only the fourth woman to ever win the top prize, and on the heels of last year’s winner, “Anatomy of a Fall” director Justine Triet.
With a jury led by Greta Gerwig alongside the likes of Lily Gladstone, Ebru Ceylan, Eva Green, Nadine Labaki, J.A. Bayona, Pierfrancesco Favino, Hirokazu Kore-eda, and Omar Sy, this year’s awards presentation will be streamed via Brut for viewers around the world and on the festival’s website at 6:45 p.m. local time and 12:45 p.m EST.
Follow along below for the updating list of 2024 Cannes Film Festival winners.
Palme d’Or:
Grand Prix:
Jury Prize:
Best Actress:
Best Actor:
Best Director:
Best Screenplay:
Camera d’Or:
