Whilst most of the Cannes coverage this year may have been focused on the films in competition for the covetous Palme d’Or, the festival also plays host to a number of other films from all over the globe. The Un Certain Regard section, in particular, is hugely influential and could drastically change the lives of filmmakers who produce films that perform well. This year, actor and director Xavier Dolan chaired the jury alongside actress Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread), critic and writer Todd McCarthy, Moroccan director Asmae El Moudir, and French-Senegalese director Maimouna Doucoure.
After last year’s winner, the independent breakout hit “How to Have Sex” by director Molly Manning Walker, this jury voted for Guan Hu’s “Black Dog.” This Chinese drama follows Lang, returning to his hometown after being released from jail. He strikes up an unlikely relationship with a dog he had been tasked with exterminating. This win will be important in getting important international eyes on the film. It is not the only win for the film. It also picked up the Palm for Best Dog!
Whilst “Armand” may not have been awarded anything in the section, it was the eventual winner of the Camera d’Or for a directorial debut. Halfdan Ullmann Tondel’s film stars Renate Reinsve (The Worst Person in the World), and he has big shoes to fill, being the grandson of legendary Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. It follows parents and teachers trying to clarify what happened after a fight between two 6-year-old boys.
The Jury Prize went to “The Story of Souleyman,” a French social-realist film by Boris Lojkine about a Guinean immigrant working for a food delivery service in Paris. Meanwhile, a special mention was given to Tawfik Alzaidi’s “Norah,” a Saudi Arabian film about an artist who moves to a remote village to teach children and a woman named Norah who lives with her younger brother after the death of their parents, exploring the relationship between the two.
The youth award was given to Louise Courvoisier’s “Holy Cow,” one of the buzziest premiers in this section, about a young boy and his even younger sister who must look after their family farm after the death of their parents, becoming fixated on winning a local cheese competition. Best Director was shared by Roberto Minervini for his film about the American Civil War, “The Damned”, and Rungano Nyoni’s “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl”, following a middle-class Zambian family, which will be released by A24.
Anasuya Sengupta won the award for Best Actress in the Hindi-language film “The Shameless,” playing a brothel worker who is forced to flee after killing a police officer, finding a community in a group of sex workers. Finally, Abou Sangare picked up the award for Best Actor in the previously mentioned “The Story of Souleyman,” making it the only film in this competition to pick up multiple awards.
