Missed the Cannes Film Festival this year? The Guardian's liveblog, trademarked by saucy comments about Awards nights and the slippery Frenchness of the occasion (classic English to point out conceptual barriers), should be an entertaining catch-up:
6.23pm: Hello and welcome to the climactic moments of Cannes 2012, which will reach its crescendo in little over an hour from now, when the Palme d'Or, the Golden Palm, is bestowed by Nanni Moretti and his panel of jurors.
Rather appropriately, the skies have opened over Cannes: thunder and lightning are crashing over the Croisette and rain is pounding on the Palais. It's a suitable backdrop for the anointing of a new presiding genius, a magician of cinema. Will it be Michael Haneke, whose Amour has
wowed the critics? Or might Leos Carax, whose Holy Motors has
boggled and excited in equal measure, carry off the prize? All we do know is
that it won't be a woman. Bah.
6.33pm: If you've kept alert, you'll know that a bunch of awards have already been dished out.
Here's the Directors Fortnight list:
ART CINEMA AWARD 2012
No (Pablo Larrain, Chile-U.S.-Mexico)
EUROPA CINEMAS LABEL 2012 for best European film in Directors' Fortnight
The Repentant (Merzak Allouache, Algeria-France)
SACD PRIZE 2012 for best French-language film in Directors' Fortnight
Camille Rewinds (Noemi Lvovsky, France)
No is the well-regarded Chilean film about the 1988 Pinochet referendum; it's a popular choice.
And here's the Un Certain Regard list:
PRIZE OF UN CERTAIN REGARD
DESPUÉS DE LUCIA by Michel FRANCO
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
LE GRAND SOIR by Benoît DELÉPINE and Gustave KERVERN
UN CERTAIN REGARD AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS
Suzanne CLÉMENT for her performance in LAURENCE ANYWAYS directed by Xavier DOLAN
UN CERTAIN REGARD AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS
Emilie DEQUENNE for her performance in À PERDRE LA RAISON directed by Joachim LAFOSSE
SPECIAL DISTINCTION OF THE JURY
DJECA (Children of Sarajevo) by Aida BEGIC
Sorry about the broken English, that's copied directly off the Cannes website.
6.47pm: Great and good assembling to hear their fate at Nanni Moretti's hands. Michael Haneke, distinguished-looking silvery hair all a-quiver in the rainy breeze, must be quietly confident. Moretti, it must be said, is looking quietly confident too.
Xan Brooks reminds me I know who won't win: Carlos Reygadas. I was the last person to interview him yesterday evening, just before he raced out of town. If he was getting a prize, they'd surely have made him stick around.
7.02pm: Tears of patriotic pride moment: the French journalist behind me calls out: "Ken Loasssh!" as our favourite ex-Nuneaton boy is collared by the red-carpet mic-wielder. Can't hear a word he says, though, above the media babble. Still, I almost leap to my feet and salute. But manage to restrain myself.
7.03pm: Here's Matteo Garrone, whose Reality might be in with a shout, what with the Italian connection.
7.11pm: Audrey Tautou, star of closing film Thérèse Desqueyroux, stumbling to her seat, which means we're pretty close now.
7.18pm: Things really getting off the ground now. Berenice Bejo, she off The Artist, is on the mic and (somewhat nervously) is making some opening remarks. "Nothing will stop cinema," she says, "especially not the rain." Ho, ho.
7.18pm: Kylie Minogue steps forward to announce the best short film. And it goes to something called
Sessiz-Be Deng by Turkish director L Rezan Yesilbas. Well done chaps.
7.22pm: The Camera d'Or, for first time directors is up next. And, my God, it's
Beasts of the Southern Wild, by Benh Zeitlin. That did well at Sundance, as I recall, so it's bit of surprise winning here.
7.26pm: Zeitlin's almost breaking down in tears, God love him. "Thank you everybody at home," he says. He remembers to thank the jury and the festival of course.
7.28pm: Nanni introducing his jury now. Gaultier gets a big cheer.
7.29pm: Prix de Jury goes to Loach! Angel's Share. Bit of a shocker there, the third prize.
7.30pm: Loach stumbles through a few French phrases before switching to English. "I would like to send our solidarity to those in dark times resist the programmes of austerity and cuts."
7.32pm: Prix de scenario - for screenplay - goes to Beyond the Hills, directed by Cristian Mungiu. He doesn't look too excited.
7.34pm: I'm flabbergasted. Winner of the mise-en-scene prize is... Carlos Reygadas for Post Tenebras Lux. He told me he was going home, dammit! I'll never believe Mexican art-film directors again.
7.38pm: Best male actor now. Gong Li steps out to hand it over. And it's Mads Mikkelsen, for Vinterberg's Jagten (The Hunt).
7.40pm: Quite a few screeches here when Mads' name is read out.
7.40pm: Now it's the women's turn. Alec Baldwin, the male Gong Li, strides forwards. Winners are: Cosmina Stratan and Cristina Flutur from the Mungiu film, Beyond the Hills.
7.45pm: Now it's the Grand Prix, the second prize. Nanni's up: it's Reality by Garrone! I told you he had a chance. Didn't think he would get anything, mind.
7.47pm: Can't say the assembled journalists greet the news with any kind of enthusiasm.
7.48pm: Now it's the biggie. Audrey Tautou and Adrien Brody do the honours. And Moretti says... the Golden Palm goes to... Amour! Haneke!
7.51pm: Only two years after taking the Palme for The White Ribbon, the Austrian does it again. I would say the reaction here is muted. No one is surprised, or especially excited either. He gets the usual standing ovation, but I don't think anyone is going nuts over it.
7.54pm: Nothing for Holy Motors or Cosmopolis, two of the films that some thought might sneak home. Audiard empty-handed too.
7.56pm: Haneke joins Kusturica, the Dardennes and Bille August (if memory serves me right) who have won the Palme twice.
8.07pm: Now all the clapping has died away, it's time to shift over to the winners' press conference, so I'll be knocking this live blog on the head. Short but very sweet!
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