2015 Cannes Film Festival

2015 Cannes Film Festival
Official poster of the 68th Cannes Film Festival featuring a photo of Ingrid Bergman by David Seymour
Opening filmStanding Tall
Closing filmIce and the Sky
LocationCannes, France
Founded1946
AwardsPalme d'Or:
Dheepan
Hosted byLambert Wilson
No. of films19 (In Competition)
Festival date13 – 24 May 2015
Websitewww.festival-cannes.com/en.html
Cannes Film Festival

The 68th Cannes Film Festival took place from 13 to 24 May 2015.[1] Ethan and Joel Coen and were the Co-Presidents of the Jury for the main competition,[2] marking the first time that two people co-chaired the jury.[3] Since the Coen brothers each received a separate vote, they were joined by seven other jurors to form the customary nine-juror panel.[4] French actor Lambert Wilson was the host for the opening and closing ceremonies.[5][6][7]

French filmmaker Jacques Audiard won the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, for the drama film Dheepan.[8][9] During his speech, Audiard stated that "receive a prize from the Coen brothers is something pretty exceptional. I'm very touched".[10] French film director Agnès Varda was presented with the Honorary Palme d'Or at the festival's closing ceremony. She was the first female filmmaker to ever receive the award.[11]

The festival's official poster featured Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman, photographed by David Seymour. The poster was chosen to pay tribute to Bergman for her contributions to films, whom also served as the Jury President at 1973 Cannes Film Festival. As part of the tribute, the documentary Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words was screened in the Cannes Classics section.[12]

The festival opened with Standing Tall by Emmanuelle Bercot,[13] and closed with Ice and the Sky by Luc Jacquet.[14] 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.[14][15][16]

The edition was infamously marked by artistic director Thierry Frémaux pledge to celebrities to abstain from taking selfies on the red carpet. While he did not have the powers to ban the pictures from the red carpet altogether, Fremaux urged celebrities to resist the temptation.[17]

  1. ^ "Cannes Film Festival". Cannes. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  2. ^ "Joel and Ethan Coen to preside over the Jury of the 68th Festival de Cannes". Cannes. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  3. ^ "Coen brothers to jointly head Cannes jury". BBC News. 20 January 2015. Archived from the original on 20 January 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Announcements was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Lambert Wilson to host ceremonies of the 68th Festival de Cannes". Cannes. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  6. ^ "Cannes 2015: Fassbender and Blanchett head for festival". The Guardian. 16 April 2015. Archived from the original on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  7. ^ "Cannes Film Festival line-up announced". BBC News. 16 April 2015. Archived from the original on 17 April 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference guardian was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference THR was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "Cannes Palme d'Or awarded to French film Dheepan". BBC News. 24 May 2015. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  11. ^ "A Palme d'honneur to Agnès Varda". Cannes. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015.
  12. ^ "It's poster time at the Festival de Cannes!". Cannes. Archived from the original on 5 January 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference opening was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference closing was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Peter Debruge & Elsa Keslassy (16 April 2015). "Cannes: Thierry Fremaux Shares Secrets Behind the 2015 Selection". Variety. Archived from the original on 21 April 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  16. ^ Aurélien Ferenczi (27 April 2015). "Thierry Fremaux: "Prognostics are for fans, not the coach of Cannes"". Télérama.fr. Archived from the original on 29 November 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  17. ^ "Ikon London Magazine Article ahead of 68 Cannes Film Festival". Ikon London Magazine. 11 April 2015. Archived from the original on 8 March 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2018.