Opening film Standing Tall Location Cannes, France Awards Palme d'Or (Dheepan) | Closing film Ice and the Sky Founded 1946 Hosted by Lambert Wilson | |
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The 68th annual Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 May 2015. Joel and Ethan Coen were the Presidents of the Jury for the main competition. It was the first time that two people chaired the jury. Since the Coen brothers each received a separate vote, they were joined by seven other jurors to form the customary nine-juror panel. French actor Lambert Wilson was the host for the opening and closing ceremonies.
Contents
- Competition
- Un Certain Regard
- Out of competition
- Short films
- Cinfondation
- International Critics Week
- Directors Fortnight
- ACID
- Cannes Classics
- Main competition
- Cinfondation and short films
- Camera dOr
- Lil dor
- Queer Palm
- Official selection
- Parallel sections
- Independent awards
- Special award
- References
The Palme d'Or was awarded to the French film Dheepan directed by Jacques Audiard. On winning the award Audiard said "To receive a prize from the Coen brothers is something pretty exceptional. I'm very touched".
The festival poster featured Hollywood star and Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman, photographed by David Seymour. The poster was chosen to pay tribute to Bergman for her contributions to films and who also served as the Jury President at 1973 Cannes Film Festival. As part of the tribute to Bergman, the Swedish documentary Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words was screened in the Cannes Classics section.
Standing Tall, directed by Emmanuelle Bercot, was the festival's opening film. This was the second opening film in the festival's history to have been directed by a woman, after A Man in Love by Diane Kurys which opened the 1987 Cannes Film Festival. Ice and the Sky, directed by Luc Jacquet, was the festival's closing film. Both the opening and closing films were selected for the strength and importance of their messages—Standing Tall for the way its themes respond to the Charlie Hebdo shootings and Ice and the Sky for its concern for the future of the planet.
French film director Agnès Varda was presented with the honorary Palme d'Or at the festival's closing ceremony. She is also the first female filmmaker to ever receive the award.
The Official Selection of films for the 2015 festival, including the line-up for the Main Competition, was announced on 16 April 2015.
Competition
The films competing for the Palme d'Or were announced at a press conference on 16 April 2015. Two films were added to the main competition line-up on 23 April 2015, Valley of Love, directed by Guillaume Nicloux, and Chronic, directed by Michel Franco.
Un Certain Regard
The following films competed in the Un Certain Regard section. Lamb, the first feature film directed by Yared Zeleke, is also the first Ethiopian film to be included in the Official Selection. Sweet Red Bean Paste, directed by Naomi Kawase, was announced as the opening film for the Un Certain Regard section.
Out of competition
The following films were selected to screen out of competition:
Short films
Out of 4,550 entries, the following films were selected to compete for the Short Film Palme d'Or.
Cinéfondation
The Cinéfondation section focuses on films made by students at film schools. The following 18 entries (14 fiction films and 4 animation films) were selected out of 1,600 submissions. More than one-third of the films selected represent schools participating in Cinéfondation for the first time. It is also the first time that a film representing a Spanish film school had been selected.
International Critics' Week
The full selection for the International Critics' Week section was announced on 20 April 2015, at the section's website. The Anarchists, directed by Elie Wajeman, and Learn by Heart, directed by Mathieu Vadepied, were selected as the opening and closing films for the International Critics' Week section.
Directors' Fortnight
The full selection for the Directors' Fortnight section was announced on 21 April 2015, at the section's website. In the Shadow of Women, directed by Philippe Garrel, and Dope, directed by Rick Famuyiwa were selected as the opening and closing films for the Directors' Fortnight section. Actua 1, a previously unseen 1968 short film directed by Garrel, preceded the screening of In the Shadow of Women.
ACID
ACID, an association of French and foreign film directors, demonstrates its support for nine films each year, seeking to provide support from filmmakers to other filmmakers. The full ACID selection was announced on 21 April 2015, at the section's website.
Cannes Classics
The full line-up for the Cannes Classics section was announced on 30 April 2015. Greek-French film director Costa-Gavras was announced as the guest of honor. In tribute to the recently deceased Portuguese film director, Cannes Classics screened Manoel de Oliveira's posthumous 1982 film Memories and Confessions. The film was previously unseen outside of Portugal.
Main competition
The full jury for the Main Competition was announced on 21 April 2015: