- Title: FRANCE: BELGIUM FILM "ROSETTA" WINS THE 52 PALM 'DOR AT THE CANNES FILM FESTIVAL
- Date: 29th May 1999
- Summary: CANNES, FRANCE (MAY 24, 1999) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) ( ** BEWARE FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY **) PALME D'OR WINNERS ENTERING MARQUEE FOR DINNER AFTER AWARDS CEREMONY PEDRO ALMODOVAR ARRIVING SPEAKING TO GERALDINE CHAPMAN AND ACTRESS FROM HIS FILM (SOUNDBITE)(Spanish) ALMODOVAR SAYING: "I can breathe again because if I went back to Spain without a prize, they'd kill me. I'm here l
- Embargoed: 13th June 1999 13:00
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- Location: CANNES, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Reuters ID: LVAA41DKCH8RJ32AGAI9820TI0NQ
- Story Text: The Cannes Film Festival drew to a close this year with a host of surprises.The Belgian film "Rosetta", a comparative dark horse out of the 22 festival contenders, won the 52nd top Golden Palm award.The selection was one of a series of unexpected winners at this year's festival.
A star studded cast greeted this year's winners for the coveted golden palm award in Cannes.But the crowd of celebrities who turned up for the lavish production were obviously surprised by the announcement of the victors.
In an unexpected move, the top prize went to Belgium's 'Rosetta', which tells of an 18-year old girl struggling to find her place in the world.She has to fight for every job she gets and remains determined - despite repeated setbacks.
The choice of 'Rosetta' as winner of the palm, was not the only festival surprise.Another shock winner at Cannes was France's 'Humanity', which picked up the festival's Grand Jury prize, the second most prestigious award after the Golden Palm.
"Humanity" leads Emmanuel Schotte and Severine Caneele won the festival's prizes for Best Actor and Actress.
Caneele shared the Best Actress prize with "Rosetta"
star Emilie Duquenne.
'Humanity' is a starkly realistic film about the oppressive tedium of life in a northern French town.
The film is packed with long silences and the camera often fixes on such mundane rituals as a man drinking coffee or riding a bicycle.
Critics were sharply divided on the film after its festival screening earlier in the week, with some loving it, but far more loathing it.
L'humanite's cast received only a meagre applause.
Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, whose film "All About My Mother" was the overall critical favourite for the palm, won the Best Director Prize.
The film combines melodrama and humour as it tells the tale of four women dealing with drug abuse, AIDS and the death of a child.
Russian film "Moloch", which took Best Screenplay, was another controversial choice.Written by Yuri Arabov and Marina Koreneva, the film is a unusual portrayal of a Hitler ignorant of the existence of Auschwitz.
The Cannes jury, led by Canadian director David Cronenberg, appeared to be singling out newcomers for special attention, as Duquenne, Schotte and Caneele were all non-professionals.Cronenberg himself is notorious for his bizarre often shocking films.
The festival jury awarded its Jury Prize, the festival's third prize, to "The Letter", directed by Manoel de Oliveira.
The film is inspired by the eighteenth century novel 'La Princesse de Cleves, by Madame de la Fayette, but set in the twentieth century. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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