2012 Cannes Film Festival


The 65th Cannes Film Festival took place from 16 to 27 May 2012. Italian filmmaker Nanni Moretti was the president of the jury for the main competition. Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke won the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, for the drama film Amour.
The official poster of the festival features Marilyn Monroe, to mark the 50th anniversary of her death. French actress Bérénice Bejo hosted the opening and closing ceremonies.
The festival opened with Moonrise Kingdom by Wes Anderson, and the closed with Thérèse Desqueyroux by Claude Miller.
WWW Official Site

Juries

Μain competition

The following people were appointed as the Jury for the feature films of the 2012 Official Selection:

''Un Certain Regard''

''Caméra d'Or''

  • Carlos Diegues, Brazilian filmmaker - Jury President
  • Michel Andrieu, French filmmaker
  • Rémy Chevrin, French cinematographer
  • Francis Gavelle, French film critic
  • Hervé Icovic, French art director
  • Gloria Satta, Italian film journalist

''Cinéfoundation'' and short films

Independent juries

The following independent juries awarded films in the frame of the Critics' Week.
Nespresso Grand Prize
  • Bertrand Bonello, French filmmaker - Jury President
  • Francisco Ferreira, Portuguese film critic
  • Akiko Kobari, Japanese film and dance critic
  • Robert Koehler, American film critic
  • Hanns-Georg Rodek, German film critic
France 4 Visionary Award
  • Céline Sciamma, French filmmaker - Jury President
  • Victor-Emmanuel Boinem, Belgian film student and blogger
  • Ryan Lattanzio, American student and lead film critic at The Daily Californian
  • Bikas Mishra, Indian founder and editor of DearCinema.com
  • Kim Seehe, South Korean student and film critic
Nikon Discovery Award for Short Film

Official Selection

The official selection was announced on 19 April at Grand Hôtel in Paris. Among comments after the announcement, journalists noted the unusually high number of Hollywood films in the line-up, the absence of any female director in the main competition, as well as the absence of competing first-time feature film directors. The festival's artistic leader Thierry Frémaux responded that people should not focus only on the competition films: "The selection is an ensemble; you have to consider the whole package."

In Competition

The following feature films competed for the Palme d'Or:

''Un Certain Regard''

The following films were screened in the Un Certain Regard section:

Out of Competition

The following films were screened out of competition:

Special Screenings

The following films were screened in the Special Screenings section:

''Cinéfondation''

The Cinéfondation section focuses on films made by students at film schools. The following entries were selected, out of more than 1,700 submissions from 320 different schools:

Short film Competition

Out of 4,500 submissions, the following films were selected for the short film competition:

Cannes Classics

The following films were screened in the Cannes Classics section. The Hungarian "montage film" Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen, directed by György Pálfi, was selected as the closing film for the Cannes Classics section.

''Cinéma de la Plage''

The Cinéma de la Plage is a part of the Official Selection of the festival. The outdoors screenings at the beach cinema of Cannes are open to the public.

Parallel Sections

Critics' Week

The line-up for the Critics' Week was announced on 23 April at the section's website. The feature competition consists entirely of directorial debuts, something the section's artistic director Charles Tesson stressed was not intentional, but only the way it turned out when the submissions had been judged by quality. The following films were selected:

Directors' Fortnight

The line-up for the Directors' Fortnight was announced at a press conference on 24 April. The following films were selected:

Official Awards

The Palme d'Or was won by the French-language film Amour directed by Michael Haneke. Haneke previously won the award for The White Ribbon in 2009. Love tells the story of an elderly couple preparing for death. During his acceptance speech, the director said "A very, very big thanks to my actors who have made this film. It's their film. They are the essence of this film." Moretti said that none of the winners had been selected unanimously, and described such an outcome as "a middle ground that would have pleased no one". He revealed that Holy Motors, Paradise: Love and Post Tenebras Lux were the entries that most had divided the jury.
The following films and people received the 2012 Official selection awards:

In Competition

''Un Certain Regard''

[Caméra d'Or]

Beasts of the Southern Wild by Benh Zeitlin

''Cinéfondation''

  • 1st Prize: The Road to by Taisia Igumentseva2nd Prize: Abigail by Matthew James Reilly3rd Prize: The Hosts by Miguel Angel Moulet

Short Films Competition

Independent Awards

FIPRESCI Prizes">FIPRESCI">FIPRESCI Prizes

In the Fog by Sergei Loznitsa Beasts of the Southern Wild by Benh Zeitlin Hold Back by Rachid Djaïdani

Vulcan Award of the Technical Artist

[Prize of the Ecumenical Jury]

The Hunt by Thomas Vinterberg

Critics' Week

Grand Prix Nespresso: Aquí y allá by Antonio Méndez Esparza

Directors' Fortnight

Art Cinema Award: No by Pablo LarraínEuropa Cinemas: The Repentant by Merzak AllouachePrix SACD: Camille Rewinds by Noémie Lvovsky
  • * Special mention Prix SACD: Ernest & Celestine by Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar, Benjamin RennerPremier Prix Illy for Short Filmmaking: The Curse by Fyzal Boulifa
  • * Special mention Prix Illy: The Living Also Cry by Basil da Cunha

Prize of the Youth Jury

Prix de la Jeunesse: Holy Motors by Leos CaraxPrix Regard Jeune: Beasts of the Southern Wild by Benh Zeitlin

Prix François Chalais">François Chalais Prize">Prix François Chalais

Horses of God by Nabil Ayouch

[Queer Palm]

Laurence Anyways by Xavier DolanBest Short Film: It's Not a Cowboy Movie by Benjamin Parent

Palm Dog Jury