At the closing ceremony, the first major award, Best Screenplay, went to Coralie Fargeat for her audacious and outrageous body horror film “The Substance”. The film starred Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley and dealt with themes of society considering women over the hill at age 50, and a mysterious substance that could keep them looking youthful. She is the second female filmmaker in recent years who has won an award for a film in the style of David Cronenberg. Julia DuCournau won the Palm D’Or in 2021 for her body horror film “Titane.”
This year, the Jury created a Special Award (the Prix Spécial) and it was presented to the Iranian film “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” from director Mohammad Rasoulof. He had recently been sentenced to 8 years in prison for his filmmaking and just managed to escape Iran within the last few weeks. He received one of the warmest receptions from the crowd for his artistry and bravery.
The Best Actress award was presented in ensemble style, going to all four lead actresses of the film “Emilia Pérez.” The award went to Zoe Saldana, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz and was accepted by the fourth honoree Karla Sofîa Gascón, a trans actress playing the part of the head of a drug cartel who has surgery to become a woman. At the jury press conference, jury president Greta Gerwig explained why they decided to give the award to all four actresses.
Emilia Pérez from director Jacques Audiard, also received the Jury Prize.
Best actor went to Jesse Plemons from “Kinds of Kindness” matching his wife Kirsten Dunst’s award for Melancholia in 2011. He was unable to attend the awards ceremony tonight, but at his earlier press conference for the film he described what it was like working within the unusual world of Yorgos Lanthimos.
The Best Director prize went to Portuguese director Miguel Gomes for his experimental travelogue, “Grand Tour”.
The Grand Prix award went to the Indian film “All We Imagine as Light” by director Payal Kapadia. This was the first Indian film in competition at Cannes in 30 years.