Samir Farid resumes his commentary from the 64th Cannes Festival It is unnecessary to speak of the Palme d'Or winner this year, since Tree of Life was reviewed in last week's issue of this paper -- and it was predicted that it would win the prize. Screened at the end of the competition screenings last Friday, the well-known Turkish auteur Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Once Upon a Time in Anatolia was a masterpiece in which Ceylan transcends Turkish realities to a vision of human life rooted in his culture. Clearly it was left to the end to maintain the vitality of the festival till the last moment and provide a satisfying finale. This is the first of Ceylan's films to be shot in wide screen for both aesthetic and objective reasons: it is full of panoramic views of nature. It is a film about the death that resides within life, a theme developed through the official search for the body of a murder victim in the company of the two prisoners accused of the murder. A Thousand and One Nights -inspired treatment of crime and punishment: it turns life into a dream, truth into a nightmare. Unlike the Grand Prix Ex-aequo, the prizes that went to Herat Shulayim and Melancholia were in my view politically motived and largely undeserved. As for the Arab contribution to Cannes, the most notable aspect was of course 18 Days -- a veritable cinematic demonstration that brought together over 100 film artists in total. It was screened at the guest-of-honour celebration as a tribute to the Egyptian revolution and Egyptian film. I had expected a good film despite the limited time in which was made. The pleasant surprise was that it is one of the best films in the history of Egyptian cinema. It is so well made and absorbing it is as if it took a whole year to make. 18 Days is not only a beautiful, varied and moving expression of the revolution but also a more or less comprehensive document of the revolution -- its causes, its developments, and the meaning of the events that punctuated its unfolding. The film commanded a full house. Thierry Frémaux, the director of the festival, presented those of its makers who were present: Youssri Nasrallah, Marwan Hamid, Kamla Abu- Zikri, Mohammad Ali, Sherif El-Bendary, Mariam Abu-Ouf, Ahmad Alaa; Youssra, Mona Zaki, Ahmad Helmi, Asser Yassin, Salwa Mohammad Ali. Speaking in French, Nasrallah paid tribute to revolutions in Tunisia, Syria, Yemen and Libya. Speaking in English on behalf of everyone who contributed to the film, Abu-Ouf dedicated the film to the martyrs of the revolution. For his part, Ahmad Helmi spoke in Arabic. JURIES Robert De Niro Nigel Parry/CPI President of the jury - Feature film Robert DE NIRO Actor, Filmmaker, Producer Michel Gondry President of the jury - Cinefondation & short films Michel GONDRY Director Members of the jury Julie GAYETVoir la photo de 'Julie GAYET' Actress Jessica HAUSNERVoir la photo de 'Jessica HAUSNER' Director Corneliu PORUMBOIUVoir la photo de 'Corneliu PORUMBOIU' Director Jo�o Pedro RODRIGUESVoir la photo de 'Jo�o Pedro RODRIGUES' Emir Kusturica President of the jury - Un Certain Regard Emir KUSTURICA Director. Members of the jury Elodie BOUCHEZ Actress Peter BRADSHAW Critic-The Guardian Geoffroy GILMORE Chief Creative Officer-Tribeca Enterprises Daniela MICHEL Director of the Morelia Festival Bong Joon-Ho President of the jury - Golden Camera Joon Ho BONG Members of the jury Robert ALAZRAKI Photo Director Daniel COLLAND Manager Cinedia Laboratory Danièle HEYMANN Critic Jacques MAILLOTVoir la photo de 'Jacques MAILLOT' Director Alex MASSON Eva VEZER Head of Magyar Filmunio AWARDS In Competition : Feature films Palme d'Or THE TREE OF LIFE directed by Terrence MALICK Grand Prix Ex-aequo BIR ZAMANLAR ANADOLU'DA (ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA) directed by Nuri Bilge CEYLAN LE GAMIN AU VELO (THE KID WITH A BIKE) directed by Jean-Pierre et Luc DARDENNE Award for Best Director Nicolas WINDING REFN for DRIVE Award for Best Screenplay Joseph CEDAR for HEARAT SHULAYIM (Footnote) Award for Best Actress Kirsten DUNST in MELANCHOLIA directed by Lars VON TRIER Award for Best Actor Jean DUJARDIN in THE ARTIST directed by Michel HAZANAVICIUS Jury Prize POLISSE (POLISS) directed by MA�WENN Short Films Palme d'Or - Short Film CROSS (CROSS - COUNTRY) directed by Maryna VRODA Jury Prize - Short Film BADPAKJE 46 (SWIMSUIT 46) directed by Wannes DESTOOP Un Certain Regard : Prize of Un Certain Regard Ex-aequo ARIRANG directed by KIM Ki-Duk HALT AUF FREIER STRECKE (STOPPED ON TRACK) directed by Andreas DRESEN Un Certain Regard Special Jury Prize ELENA directed by Andrey ZVYAGINTSEV Directing Prize of Un Certain Regard BE OMID E DIDAR directed by Mohammad RASOULOF Cinefondation : 1st Prize Cinéfondation DER BRIEF (THE LETTER) directed by Doroteya DROUMEVA 2nd Prize - Cinéfondation DRARI directed by Kamal LAZRAQ 3rd Prize Cinéfondation YA-GAN-BI-HANG (FLY BY NIGHT) directed by SON Tae-gyum Golden Camera : Caméra d'or LAS ACACIAS directed by Pablo GIORGELLI
