Ragesh Dipu
The 2019 Cannes Film Festival has announced the winners in the Un Certain Regard sidebar. Karim Ainouz’s ‘The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao’ has named the Best Film in the prestigious section, reports The Wrap. The Brazilian family drama is an adaptation of the renowned novel by Martha Batalha. Set in the Rio de Janeiro of the ’50s, the movie depicts the status of women in Brazilian society undergoing a radical transformation. The plot follows two women who wreak havoc in the patriarchal framework of their family by challenging the widely accepted rules of men.
French-born Galician filmmaker Oliver Laxe’s ‘Fire Will Come’ won the runner-up Jury Prize. The movie tells an emotive tale of a convicted rebel who tries to settle down with rural life after his prison sentence. Laxe has won the Cannes Critics’ Week competition in 2016 for his feature directorial debut ‘Mimosas.’ The young Russian filmmaker Kantemir Balagov received the Best Director prize for his sophomore feature ‘Beanpole.’ The movie was hailed as a festival favorite and rumored to be a likely contender for the Palm d’Or in the competition section before it was moved to the sidebar.
Quebecois filmmaker Monia Chokri’s ‘A Brother’s Love’ and the U.S. actor-turned-director Michael Angelo Covino’s ‘The Climb’ shared a special award, the Coup de Coeur. Director Albert Serra also bagged a Special Jury Prize for one of the most controversial and divisive movies in the festival, ‘Liberté.’ The movie, which features graphic penetration, S&M and urolagnia, caused the most number of walkouts this year. The French master Bruno Dumont’s ‘Joan of Arc’ received a special mention from the jury. The movie is the veteran filmmaker’s second installment in the musical biopic of the Maid of Orléans. Chiara Mastroianni, daughter of Catherine Deneuve and Marcello Mastroianni, received the best performance award for her portrayal of a housewife who leaves her husband after 20 years of marriage in Christophe Honoré’s comedy ‘On a Magical Night.’
The section’s jury was chaired by Nadine Labaki, who is known for ‘Capernaum.’ Fellow jury members include French actress Marina Foïs, producer Nurhan Sekerci-Porst from Germany, Argentinean filmmaker Lisandro Alonso, and director Lukas Dhont from Belgium.
“We would like to express the great pleasure we had diving into the diversity of this selection,” the jury said in a statement. “This on many levels: on the subjects, on the way cinematic tools were used and on the portrayal of its characters. It was very stimulating to have seen, side by side, filmmakers that master their language so well and others still finding their way to mastery.”
Check out the complete list of winners in Cannes Un Certain Regard sidebar below.
Un Certain Regard Prize: “The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão,” Karim Aïnouz
Jury Prize: “Fire Will Come,” Oliver Laxe
Best Director: Kantemir Balagov, “Beanpole”
Best Performance: Chiara Mastroianni, “On a Magical Night”
Special Jury Prize: Albert Serra, “Liberté”
Special Jury Mention: “Joan of Arc,” Bruno Dumont
Coup de Coeur Award: “A Brother’s Love,” Monia Chokri; “The Climb,” Michael Angelo Covino
There were 18 films in the section:
Invisible Life, Karim Aïnouz
Beanpole, Kantemir Balagov
The Swallows of Kabul, Zabou Breitman & Eléa Gobé Mévellec
A Brother’s Love, Monia Chokri
The Climb, Michael Covino
Joan of Arc, Bruno Dumont
Fire Will Come, Olivier Laxe
On a Magical Night, Christophe Honoré
Port Authority, Danielle Lessovitz
Papicha, Mounia Meddour
Adam, Maryam Touzani
Nina Wu, Midi Z
Liberte, Albert Serra
Bull, Annie Silverstein
Summer of Changsha, Zu Feng
EVGE, Nariman Aliev
The Bears Famous Invasion, Lorenzo mattotti
Once in Trubchevsk, Larisa Sadilova
Cover Image Courtesy: Cannes Film Festival (The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao)
