Asghar Farhadi’s ‘A Hero’ grabs Cannes Grand Prix award
Iranian administration’s spokesman Ali Rabiei wrote in his Twitter account, “Our people need success more than ever. The victory of every Iranian is heartwarming. ‘A Hero’ is a symbol of the success of Iran and Iranians.”
He added that Farhadi’s winning of the Cannes Grand Prix displayed Iran’s cinematic status. I sincerely congratulate such success.”
The director of the Cinema Organization of Iran Hossein Entezami wrote a message to the director’s big success, “Shining at the Cannes Film Festival, once again showed the abilities of Iranian cinema. Congratulations to Asghar Farhadi and his colleagues and wishing the promotion of Iranian arts and culture.
The Iranian Documentary Filmmakers Association (IRDFA) also congratulated Farhadi’s success at Cannes Film Festival.
The message reads: “In these difficult days for Iranian people and cinema, the news of your film’s success at the Cannes Film Festival creates happiness and pride.”
The secretary of the 38th Fajr International Film Festival Mohammad-mehdi Asgarpour wrote that “Fortunately, you, once again, made a great honor for Iranian arts and culture. I sincerely congratulate you and your colleagues on this success and I hope your success will continue.”
Iranian musician Bijan Bijani whose work ‘Nahankhaney-e Del’ inspired the closing credits music of the ‘A Hero’, also expressed his happiness over Farhadi’s film and wrote, “Farhadi’s delicate and artistic look at the cultural and social issues of Iran, as well as his accurate knowledge of cinema, has made him famous in the world.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Chaos reigned at the awards ceremony for the 2021 Cannes International Film Festival after jury president Spike Lee accidentally announced the winner of the Palme d’or – Julia
Ducournau’s wildly extreme fantasy drama ‘Titane’ – right at the start of the night.
The master of ceremonies attempted to laugh off the slipup and forget that it had happened,
but with Cannes’ top prize having been revealed prematurely it set a comically awkward tone over the rest of the proceedings. When it was actually time for the Palme d’or presentation, Lee acknowledged his mistake.
“In 63 years of life I’ve learned that people get a second chance, this is my second chance,” he said. “I apologize for messing up. It took a lot of suspense out of the night I understand, it wasn’t on purpose.”
However, Lee still had to be stopped from revealing the winner before the final special guest, Sharon Stone, had been welcomed on stage.
‘Titane,’ Ducournau’s follow up feature to her lauded cannibal-coming-of-age story ‘Raw’ (which premiered in Cannes’ Critics’ Week sidebar), combines body horror, female revenge films, and ‘F9’-esque car-obsession in what is arguably the most radical film in the Cannes competition this year. Ducournau now becomes only the second female winner of the Palme d’or after Jane Campion, who won in 1993 for ‘The Piano’.
Caleb Landry Jones picked up best actor for his performance in Justin Kurzel’s ‘Nitram,’ in which he portrayed the disturbed lone gunman responsible for the 1996 Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania, the worst mass shooting in modern Australian history. Renate Reinste was named best actress for ‘The Worst Person in the World,’ Joachim Trier’s dark romantic comic comedydrama.
Leos Carax, who opened the Cannes with his musical drama ‘Annette,’ won the best director award.
The 74th Cannes Film Festival kicked off July 6, two months later than usual, amid safety concerns due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Last year’s festival was canceled because of COVID-19.
Lee, who has appeared in Cannes with films such as ‘Blackkklansman’ (2019) and ‘Do The Right Thing’ (1989), is the first Black person to be president of the Cannes jury. This year’s jury is also the first in Cannes history where a majority of the jurors, five out of nine, are women.