CANNES, France (AP)—The Cannes Film Festival jury has awarded its coveted Palme d’Or award to Ruben Ostlund’s “The Square.”
“Oh my god! OK,” the Swedish filmmaker exclaimed after he bounded onto the stage to collect the prize.
He led the crowd in a cheer, too.
Ostlund previously won the Jury Prize in the 2014 festival’s Un Certain Regard section for “Force Majeure.”
Dominic West, Elisabeth Moss and Claes Bang star in “The Square.”
Bang plays the curator of an art museum, who sets up “The Square,” an installation inviting passers-by to altruism.
But after he reacts foolishly to the theft of his phone, the respected father of two finds himself dragged into shameful situations.
Smith as Kidman
Sofia Coppola has won the Cannes Film Festival best director prize for “The Beguiled,” her remake of Don Siegel’s 1971 Civil War drama.
The French AIDS drama “120 Beats Per Minute” won the Grand Prize from the jury. The Grand Prize recognizes a strong film that missed out on the top prize, the Palme d’Or.
The jury also presented a special prize to celebrate the festival’s 70th anniversary, to actress Nicole Kidman.
Kidman wasn’t at the French Rivera ceremony, but sent a video message from Nashville, saying she was “absolutely devastated” to miss the show.
Jury member Will Smith made the best of the situation, pretending to be Kidman.
He fake-cried and said in halting French, “merci beaucoup, madames et monsieurs.”
Best actress, actor
Diane Kruger has been named best actress and Joaquin Phoenix best actor at the 70th annual Cannes Film Festival.
Kruger was honored for her performance in Fatih Akin’s “In the Fade.”
She told the star-studded audience she was “overcome.” Kruger said. “Thank you a thousand times.”
Phoenix was recognized for his role in Lynne Ramsay’s thriller “You Were Never Really Here.”
He played a tormented war veteran trying to save a teenage girl from a sex trafficking ring.
Phoenix wore sneakers on stage as he collected the prize. He said his leather shoes had been flown ahead of him.
He apologized for his appearance, saying the prize was “totally unexpected.”
Two ‘Best Screenplay’ awards
The Cannes Film Festival jury has awarded two—not one—screenplay awards this year—for “The Killing of a Sacred Deer” and “You Were Never Really Here.”
Jury president Pedro Almodovar said as he announced the selection on Sunday night, “We have our first surprise.”
The jury prize went to Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev’s “Loveless.”
The Palme d’Or award for short films has gone to the 15-minute-long Chinese movie “A Gentle Night” by Qiu Yang.
