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Director Lee Jumps Gun at Cannes, Says 'Titane' Wins Cannes Prize

Reuters

   CANNES, FRANCE - Titane,a wildly imaginative film about a serial killer
   by French director Julia Ducournau, won the top Palme d'Or prize at the
   Cannes Film Festival, jury head Spike Lee told aceremony Saturday
   before the award was slated to be revealed.

   In a moment of confusion when asked in French to reveal what one of the
   prizes was, the U.S. film director read off a card and prematurely
   announced the best movie winner.

   Ducournau, 37, became only the second woman to win the top award at
   Cannes. Her violent film, in which the heroine has sex with a car,
   split critics, with some praising its originality but others put off by
   its frantic and messy approach.

   Described as a "body horror" movie and based around a character with a
   titanium plate in her head, the film impressed some critics with its
   energy.

   Ducournau had previously found critical success with Rawin 2016. The
   only previous female winner of Cannes' top award was Jane Campion who
   shared the prize in 1993 for The Piano.

   The world's biggest film festival returned to the French Riviera after
   a 2020 hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.

   Stars happy to be back

   The event drew stars such as Matt Damon and Sharon Stone to the red
   carpet, with moviemakers and actors delighted to be back, though
   attendance was down from figures of previous years.

   Other big winners revealed when results were officially announced
   included Leos Carax, picked as best director for Annette,a musical
   about two artists caught in a twisted love affair.

   Hamaguchi Ryusuke and Takamusa Oe of Japan won best screenplay for
   their tale of heartbreak and loss, Drive My Car.Renate Reinsve won best
   actress for her role in The Worst Person in the Worldby Joachim Trier,
   a modern-day romantic comedy that was a big hit with critics.

   Compartment no6by Juho Kuosmanen, about a woman who embarks on a train
   journey across Russia, tied with A Heroby Iran's Asghar Farhadi, which
   features a prisoner faced with a moral quandary, for the Grand Prix
   distinction.

   Caleb Landry Jones, who starred in Australian film Nitram,won best
   actor.

   The Jury Prize, another runner-up award for best movie, went to two
   films: Ahead's Kneeby Israel's Nadav Lapid and Memoriaby Thailand's
   Apichatpong Weerasethakul.

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