Shock-fest Titane took home the top Palme d’Or prize at Cannes on Saturday, revealed early at the closing ceremony in an embarrassing slip-up by jury president Spike Lee.
French director Julie Ducournau is only the second woman to scoop the prize, for a movie that was one of the wildest, sexiest and most violent ever shown at the Cannes film festival.
“It’s the first film ever where a Cadillac impregnated a woman. That blew my mind!” Lee said. “That’s genius and craziness together.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
Titane tells the story of a woman who has sex with cars and kills without a care, with brutal scenes that had many cinema-goers shielding their eyes during the opening night.
Lee, the first black man to lead the jury, read out the winner at the very start of the prize ceremony, rather than introducing the first award of the night for best actor.
After an awkward pause and regrouping, the best actor award went to US actor Caleb Landry Jones for his chilling performance in Nitram about Australia’s worst mass shooting in 1996 in which 35 people died.
It was a huge night, too, for the previously unknown Norwegian actress Renate Reinsve, who was rocketed to stardom by her role in Worst Person in the World.
When it finally became time to announce the Palme d’Or for real, Lee said: “I apologize for messing up.”
However, then he almost fluffed the presentation again, starting to announce the winner rather than presenter Sharon Stone, by which point Ducournau was giggling in the audience.
She still broke into tears when the official announcement was made, and told the crowd: “This evening has been perfect because it’s been imperfect. Thank you for letting the monsters in.”
The only other woman to win the top prize is Jane Campion for The Piano in 1993.
Other winners on the night included Leos Carax as best director for Annette, the flamboyant rock opera starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard, and written by eccentric Los Angeles pop duo Sparks.
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