Cannes - Palme d'Or
The Cannes Film Festival is the world's most prestigious film festival, first held in 1946 in the resort town of Cannes, in the south of France. Since then, it has been held annually in May with a few exceptions. Given massive media exposure, the non-public Festival is attended by many movie stars and is a popular venue for movie producers to launch their new films and attempt to sell their works to the distributors who come from all over the globe. The most prestigious award at Cannes is the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) for the best film, sometimes shared by multiple films in one year.
Below are the past winners of this most cherished trophy.
Right: Michael Moore gets his for Fahrenheit 9/11.
The Class ( Entre Les Murs ) (2008)
7.5/10
Director: Laurent Cantet
Starring: Francois Begaudeau, Franck Keita, Nassim Amrabt, Esmerelda Ouertani
French director Laurent Cantet does something miraculous with the well-worn conceit of a teacher and his underprivileged students in this fresh and op... Read more
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007)
7.9/10
Director: Cristian Mungiu
Starring: Anamaria Marinca, Laura Vasiliu, Vlad Ivanov, Alexandru Potocean
Set in 1980s Bucharest during Ceaucescu's brutal reign, this intense drama centres on two young women, one of whom finds herself pregnant. Her best fr... Read more
The Wind That Shakes The Barley (2006)
7.5/10
Director: Ken Loach
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Padraic Delaney, Liam Cunningham, Orla Fitzgerald, Mary Riordan,...
Ken Loach takes on the Irish-English conflict through a story of two brothers who wind up on differing sides of a philosophical divide after joining i... Read more
The Child ( L'Enfant ) (2005)
4.2/10
Director: Luc Dardenne, Jean-Pierre Dardenne
Starring: Jeremie Renier, Deborah Francois, Jeremie Segard, Fabrizio Rongione, Olivier Gou...
Sofia and her boyfriend Bruno are two irresponsible teens living on the bottom rung of the social ladder. When Sofia falls pregnant and gives birth t... Read more
Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)
7.5/10
Director: Michael Moore
Starring: Michael Moore
Following the success of "Bowling for Columbine", Michael Moore uses his characteristic deft humour and uniquely persistent style to launch an unflinc... Read more
Elephant (2003)
7.2/10
Director: Gus Van Sant
Starring: Alex Frost, Eric Deulen, John Robinson, Elias McConnell, Jordan Taylor
Inspired by the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School, this stylish, understated drama from Gus Van Sant ("Drugstore Cowboy") depicts a day in the l... Read more
The Pianist (2002)
8.5/10
Director: Roman Polanski
Starring: Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay, Maureen Lipman
Internationally acclaimed filmmaker Roman Polanski directs this award-winning testament to the power of the human spirit, based on the true-life story... Read more
The Son's Room (2001)
7.4/10
Director: Nanni Moretti
Starring: Laura Morante, Nanni Moretti
This critically acclaimed family drama from director Nanni Moretti ('Caro Diario') won the Palme d'Or (Best Film) at Cannes. The film looks at how a c... Read more
Dancer in the Dark (2000)
8/10
Director: Lars von Trier
Starring: Bjork, Catherine Deneuve, Joel Grey, David Morse
Winner of the Palme d'Or at the Cannes film festival, Lars Von Trier's brilliant film inspires adulation and scorn. This neo-musical is set in an earl... Read more
Rosetta / La Promesse (1999)
Director: Luc Dardenne, Jean-Pierre Dardenne
Starring: Emilie Dequenne, Fabrizio Rongione, Anne Yernaux, Jeremie Renier, Olivier Gourme...
'Rosetta' (1999, 90 mins) Winner of the 1999 Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and widely hailed as a masterpiece, 'Rosetta' is an extraordinary... Read more