Jury to announce Palme d'Or winner as Cannes Film Fest concludes today; no awards for India this year

The curtains are all set to come down on the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday evening. However, unlike last year, no Indian film took away prizes in any of the categories. Director Neeraj Ghaywan's sophomore film 'Homebound', which was competing in the Un Certain Regard section, did not win any prize at the film festival, though his previous work 'Masaan' had picked two awards at the Cannes in 2015. ‘A Doll Made Up of Clay’, which was the other Indian entry in a competitive event at the prestigious festival this year, also did not win an award in the event’s La Cinef competition for film schools.

Meanwhile, the winner of the Palme D'Or, the top prize of the Cannes Film Festival, will be announced on the final night. The nine-strong jury headed by French actor Juliette Binoche will pick one of 22 films to award the top prize, with titles from Wes Anderson, Ari Aster, Richard Linklater and Joachim Trier among the competitors.

Other awards include the Grand Prix, jury prize, best director, best actor, and best screenplay. These awards, as per Reuters, can make or break careers: Renate Reinsve, who stars in Trier's entry 'Sentimental Value,' said that winning best actress in 2021 for 'The Worst Person in the World' completely changed her life. The jury's decisions will be closely watched after 'Anora,' which won the top prize in 2024, went on to take home five Oscars, including the Best Picture top Academy Award. 'The Substance,' which was awarded best screenplay at Cannes the same year, also won an Oscar. One indicator of who could win is the selection of films that have been bought by independent distributor Neon, which has successfully picked the Cannes winner the last five times.

So far this festival, the U.S. distributor has nabbed three films: 'Sentimental Value,' which received a 15-minute-plus standing ovation, 'It Was Just an Accident' from Iranian director Jafar Panahi, and 'The Secret Agent' from Brazil's Kleber Mendonca Filho.Other strong contenders, based on the annual jury grid compiled by industry publication ScreenDaily, include Stalinist-era legal piece 'Two Prosecutors' and German director Mascha Schilinski's intergenerational drama 'Sound of Falling.'

French director Julia Ducournau, who premiered 'Alpha' at this year's festival, and Belgium's Dardenne brothers are the only competitors who have previously won the top prize. Ducournau became only the second woman to win in 2021 for 'Titane,' while Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne have the rare honour of having won twice with 'Rosetta' and 'L'Enfant' in 1999 and 2005, respectively. This year's festival officially kicked off on May 13 with the French comedy 'Leave One Day.'