Cannes winner Loach says he hopes film will make people consider impact of "cruel" austerity

Record ID: 102483

  • Title: Cannes winner Loach says he hopes film will make people consider impact of "cruel" austerity
  • Date: 22nd May 2016
  • Summary: CANNES, FRANCE (MAY 22, 2016) (REUTERS) **** WARNING CONTAINS PROFANITY **** DIRECTOR, KEN LOACH, WALKING OUT DIRECTOR, CRISTIAN MUNGIU, WALKING OUT DIRECTOR, ASHGAR FARHADI AND ACTOR, SHAHAB HOSSEINI, WALKING OUT ACTRESS, JACLYN JOSE, WALKING OUT DIRECTOR, XAVIER DOLAN WALKING OUT DIRECTOR, ANDREA ARNOLD WITH ACTRESS SASHA LANE LOACH HOLDING PALME D'OR (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR, KEN LOACH, SAYING: "It's just amazing isn't it - it's hard to believe but here we are you know - some of the team is here as well and that's good because it's never about an individual is it - it's always about the team." LOACH BEING INTERVIEWED (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR, KEN LOACH, SAYING WHY HE THOUGHT THE JURY CHOSE IT AS THE WINNER: "Well, I don't know, I hope, I hope they were touched by it, I hope they felt like we did, that the bureaucracy, the state bureaucracies now are cruel and they humiliate people, and they come from the programme of austerity that is being forced on people now. And it's killing us, it's killing millions, well it's putting millions into great hardship, and the millions above them who are really struggling - with a tiny elite of the very rich. And we have to end it, we have to find another way." THE PALME D'OR TROPHY / LOACH (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR CRISTIAN MUNGIU SAYING: "I hope that the film will be seen, I hope that this is what the awards are for, I think it is very difficult to compare films, I am thinking now about all the great directors and the great films that were here in Cannes and didn't get an award, I am sure that it is the same feeling if you get an award or not, so I hope the audiences will be curious to go and watch all the films that have been in the selection. As for us, the film will be in very many countries, and the award will help the audience to discover the film." ACTOR SHAHAB HOSSEINI SHOWING HIS BEST ACTOR AWARD (SOUNDBITE) (Farsi) DIRECTOR, ASHGAR FARHADI, SAYING (ACCORDING TO OFFICIAL TRANSLATION): "I am extremely happy, I think it's quite rare to have two prizes for one film out of the seven prizes that the festival gives, so I feel extremely grateful for that." FARHADI BEING ASKED ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THE AWARD FOR IRANIAN CINEMA (SOUNDBITE) (Farsi) DIRECTOR ASHGAR FARHADI SAYING (ACCORDING TO OFFICIAL TRANSLATION): "Iranian cinema has already won many awards, if not all all the awards in the world, but I still feel that tonight is a kind of tribute paid to the cinema and I am very happy about that. FARHADI TALKING WITH JOURNALISTS FARHADI AND HOSSEINI WITH AWARD (SOUNDBITE) (Farsi) ACTOR, SHAHAB HOSSEINI, SAYING (ACCORDING TO OFFICIAL TRANSLATION): "Well this is (like) another award to hear that, because I feel that Ashgar Farhadi is somebody who really made a point in Iranian history, so hearing that just makes me feel that I have to go on making efforts and improving myself." ACTRESS JACLYN JOSE WITH AWARD JOSE BEING INTERVIEWED (SOUNDBITE) (English) FILIPINO ACTRESS, JACLYN JOSE, SAYING: "Oh yeah. Who would not get be emotional, this is the Cannes film festival, this is big, I mean especially in my country, you know not anyone can be in the a competition here or be nominated as best actress, so this is big in my country right now." JOSE BEING ASKED ABOUT COMPETING AGAINST A STRONG LINE UP (SOUNDBITE) FILIPINO ACTRESS, JACLYN JOSE, SAYING: "Yeah because when I saw the line-up I said, oh they are all my idols and they are all good, and I was just watching and enjoying the moment. When they called my name I got surprised and got emotional." VARIOUS OF DOLAN BEING INTERVIEWED DOLAN HOLDING SCROLL (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR, XAVIER DOLAN, SAYING: "I was emotional because we were... because I don't have the experience, I don't have the experience and the maturity I guess to just brush off these cruel, cruel I want to say cruel, because most of them are very clean, some are cruel and I have no time for cruelty and the reviews on my personae and psychological analysis of the monster I potentially am. All I care about is what people thought of the movie, stick to the fucking movie." DOLAN BEING ASKED ABOUT HIS HOPES FOR THE MOVIE (SOUNDBITE) (English) XAVIER DOLAN, ASKED ABOUT HIS HOPES FOR THE MOVIE SAYING "Oh I don't know, I have no hopes for the movie other than calling the people that I have made it with to tell them that I am really proud of them, that is the only hope that I have." VARIOUS OF LOACH BEING INTERVIEWED / HOLDING PALME D'OR (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR, ANDREA ARNOLD (JOINED BY ACTRESS SASHA LANE), SAYING: "I don't know how the people here make their decisions, and they have a big selection committee and who knows what complicated process that is, I have no idea, but obviously there needs to be more women making films and I don't know, that has to happen on lots of levels I think, people funding films, people who chose women to make films need to actually choose more women to make films, they need to do that, and then when there are more films made by women, there might be more... SASHA LANE JOINS AND SAYS: "Bad ass director, you bad ass director. Bad ass director, amazing human being, woman or male you are fucking amazing. Let's go party." (REPORTER ASKS WHAT THE PLANS FOR THE PARTY) "Everything, you have got to get to it." ANDREA ARNOLD SAYS: "We have some shapes to throw right." (REPORTER ASKS HER HOPES FOR THE FILM) "Well I mean any recognition here, I mean just having your film here is a huge thing, to me that is a huge prize in itself to have your film show here, and to have the recognition here also means that hopefully more people will get to see the film and I care about the people I am portraying in the film and I want them to get heard, so that is what matters really." DIRECTOR OLIVIER ASSAYAS BEING INTERVIEWED ASSAYAS GIVING NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH DIRECTOR, OLIVIER ASSAYAS, SAYING: "It's a great pleasure to share with Cristian Mungiu. He is a film-maker who I both admire and have affection for. I think he is someone who I have some resemblance with, both on the human aspect and on the artistic one. I have the feeling it is fair and consistent and I was very happy to be there with him." ASSAYAS AT NEWS CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 6th June 2016 23:15
  • Keywords: Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or award winners
  • Location: CANNES, FRANCE
  • City: CANNES, FRANCE
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Film
  • Reuters ID: LVA0014IW3C5P
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:PLEASE NOTE EDIT CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE AT SHOT 23
    PLEASE NOTE TRANSLATIONS FROM FARSI WERE PROVIDED BY OFFICIAL INTERPRETER ON THE GROUND
    Palme d'Or winner Ken Loach said he hoped his searing take on poverty in modern day England would make those who watch it think again about the austerity program he described as being forced upon people by "cruel" state bureaucracies.
    "Well, I don't know, I hope, I hope they were touched by it, I hope they felt like we did, that the bureaucracy, the state bureaucracies are cruel and they humiliate people, and they come from the programme of austerity that is being forced on people now. And it's killing us, it's killing millions, well it's putting millions into great hardship, and the millions above them who are really struggling - with a tiny elite of the very rich. And we have to end it, we have to find another way," said Loach.
    This is the second Palme d'Or win for the veteran English actor, having picked up the highest accolade from the festival with his 2006 film, 'The Hand that Shakes the Barley'.
    The Grand Prix award went to a visibly emotional Canadian director Xavier Dolan whose film 'Juste la Fin du Monde' (It's only the end of the world) was booed when screened to journalists during the festival.
    "I was emotional because we were... because I don't have the experience, I don't have the experience and the maturity I guess to just brush off these cruel, cruel I want to say cruel, because most of them are very clean, some are cruel and I have no time for cruelty and the reviews on my personae and psychological analysis of the monster I potentially am. All I care about is what people thought of the movie, stick to the fucking movie," Dolan told Reuters.
    Best Director was awarded jointly to Olivier Assayas for 'Personal Shopper', and Cristian Mungiu for 'Bacalaureat', while Andrea Arnold picked up the jury prize for her film American Honey.
    "Well I mean any recognition here, I mean just having your film here is a huge thing, to me that is a huge prize in itself to have your film show here, and to have the recognition here just means that I hope a few more people will get to see the film and I care about the people I am portraying in the film and I want them to get heard, so that is what matters really," she said.
    Iranian director Ashgar Farhadi scooped two awards for his film Forushande (The Salesman), Best Screenplay and Best actor for Shahab Hosseini.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register