The French lesbian romance from director Abdellatif Kechiche won the top prize at Cannes Festival on May 26.
- May 27, 2013
AceShowbiz - This year's Palme d'Or has been awarded to "Blue Is the Warmest Color", a French film about a lesbian romance. Steven Spielberg, the president of jury at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, said that he and his fellow jurors, including Nicole Kidman and Ang Lee, picked the Abdellatif Kechiche-directed film out of 20 films for some certain reasons.
"The film is a great love story that made us all feel privileged to be invited to see this story of deep love and deep heartbreak," Spielberg told reporters. The "Lincoln" helmer then praised the way Kechiche delivered the story, saying, "The director didn't put any constraints on the narrative."
Kechiche himself agreed with what Spielberg said earlier. "The film had a beautiful French youth that I discovered during the long time filming the movie," so the French-Tunisian filmmaker said at the festival closing ceremony on Sunday, May 26. "It taught me a lot about the spirit of freedom."
"Inside Llewyn Davis" took home the Grand Prize, considered Cannes' runner-up award. The film's lead Oscar Isaac, who stars in the U.S. flick from Ethan and Joel Coen alongside Justin Timberlake and Carey Mulligan, accepted the award in the absence of the Coen brothers.
Bruce Dern's strong performance in Alexander Payne's "Nebraska", meanwhile, made the actor win the Best Actor category. As for this year's best actress, Berenice Bejo was named one for her starring role in French film "The Past", directed by Asghar Farhadi.
Full Winner List of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival:
- Palme d'Or: Abdellatif Kechiche - "Blue Is the Warmest Color"
- Grand Prix: Ethan and Joel Coen - "Inside Llewyn Davis"
- Best Director: Amat Escalante - "Heli"
- Best Screenplay: Jia Zhangke - "A Touch of Sin"
- Best Actor: Bruce Dern - "Nebraska"
- Best Actress: Berenice Bejo - "The Past"
- Jury Prize: Hirokazu Kore-eda - "Like Father, Like Son"
- Camera d'Or: Anthony Chen - "Ilo Ilo"
"Blue Is the Warmest Color" Clip 1:
"Blue Is the Warmest Color" Clip 2:
