Opening film Midnight in Paris Location Cannes, France Hosted by Mélanie Laurent | Closing film The Beloved Founded 1946 | |
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Awards Palme d'Or (The Tree of Life) | ||
The 64th annual Cannes Film Festival was held from 11 to 22 May 2011. American actor Robert De Niro served as the president of the jury for the main competition and French filmmaker Michel Gondry headed the jury for the short film competition. South Korean film director Bong Joon-ho was the head of the jury for the Caméra d'Or prize, which is awarded to the best first-time filmmaker.
Contents
- Winner
- Official Selection
- Cinfondation
- Directors Fortnight
- International Critics Week
- Cannes Classics
- International competition
- Awards
- References
Midnight in Paris, written and directed by Woody Allen, opened the festival. Mélanie Laurent hosted the opening and closing ceremonies.
Italian film director Bernardo Bertolucci was presented with the third Honorary Palme d'Or Award at the opening ceremony of the festival. Though the award had been given out sporadically in the past the Honorary Palme d'Or was supposed to presented annually after 2011. However it was not given again until the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. Gus Van Sant's Restless opened the Un Certain Regard section. Jailed Iranian film directors Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof were honoured at the festival. Goodbye by Rasoulof and Panahi's This Is Not a Film was screened at the festival, and Panahi was awarded the Carrosse d'Or. Four female directors featured in the main competition: Australian Julia Leigh, Japan's Naomi Kawase, Scottish director Lynne Ramsay and France's own Maïwenn Le Besco.
Danish film director Lars von Trier caused controversy with comments he made at the press conference of his film Melancholia. When he was asked about the relation between the influences of German Romanticism in the film and his own German heritage, the director made jokes about Jews and Nazis. He said he understood Adolf Hitler and admired the work of architect Albert Speer, and jokingly announced that he was a Nazi. The Cannes Film Festival first issued an official apology for the remarks the same day and clarified that Trier is not a Nazi or an antisemite, then declared the director "persona non grata" the following day. The film remained in competition.
Winner
The Palme d'Or was won by the American film The Tree of Life directed by Terrence Malick. Two of the film's producers, Bill Pohlad and Sarah Green, accepted the prize on behalf of the reclusive Malick. The Tree of Life is the first American film to win the Palme d'Or since Fahrenheit 9/11 in 2004. Head of the jury, Robert De Niro, said it was difficult to choose a winner, but The Tree of Life "ultimately fit the bill". De Niro explained, "It had the size, the importance, the intention, whatever you want to call it, that seemed to fit the prize."
Official Selection
The following films were screened as part of the official selection:
Cinéfondation
The following films were selected to be screened in the Cinéfondation section, which focuses on short films made by students at film schools:
Directors' Fortnight
The following films were selected to be screened in the independent Directors' Fortnight section:
International Critics' Week
The line-up for the International Critics' Week was announced on 18 April at the section's website. Declaration of War, directed by Valérie Donzelli, and Bachelor Days Are Over, directed by Katia Lewkowicz, were selected as the opening and closing films of the Semaine de la Critique section.
Cannes Classics
The following films were selected to be screened in the Cannes Classics section.