21 Films Compete for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival

The 76th Cannes Film Festival will conclude on Sunday with the awards ceremony where the jury will honor the best films of this edition. According to the Associated Press, 21 films were screened in the main competition section, and over the two weeks, prominent filmmakers walked the festival's red carpet. The most prestigious award of the festival, the Palme d'Or, will be awarded to the film that the jury, chaired by Swedish Ruben Östlund, deems the best. Östlund himself has won the Palme d'Or twice in the past. Predicting the best film at this cinematic event is very difficult, and the Cannes jury has often surprised art critics with their award decisions. Given this, all 21 films in the main competition have a chance to win the Palme d'Or. However, among the favorites of art critics are 'The Zone of Interest' by Jonathan Glazer, 'Fallen Leaves' by Aki Kaurismäki, and 'Anatomy of a Fall' directed by Justine Triet. German actress Sandra Hüller, starring in both 'Anatomy of a Fall' and 'The Zone of Interest', has a strong chance of winning the best actress award. The 'Un Certain Regard' section of the festival concluded on Friday with the announcement of winners, and the main award went to Molly Manning Walker's debut film 'How to Have Sex'. The 76th Cannes Film Festival was not without memorable, exciting, or controversial moments. The most popular films of the festival were those screened outside the competitive section, and Hollywood celebrities also dominated the scene this year. Martin Scorsese had a successful presence at the festival with 'Killers of the Flower Moon', featuring Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio, which received a warm reception. 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny' was another popular film at the festival, where Harrison Ford bid farewell to the character of Dr. Jones in his final appearance in this cinematic series. The selection of 'Jeanne du Barry' starring Johnny Depp as the festival's opening film was met with criticism. Some critics accused the festival's organizers of showing excessive affection towards this actor, who is believed by some to have behaved inappropriately towards women. Nevertheless, the film's screening was very successful, with attendees applauding the cast and crew, including Johnny Depp, for seven minutes. The disputes at Cannes, which require competing films to adhere to strict French cinema regulations, continue with the Netflix streaming service. Interestingly, Netflix may win the Palme d'Or; the platform recently acquired 'May December', starring Todd Haynes, Natalie Portman, and Julianne Moore, which is competing in the main section, for $11 million for North American distribution. Unlike previous years, no Iranian films participated in the main competition section this year. Kaveh Farnam, a film producer and member of the Independent Filmmakers Association of Iran, previously explained in an interview with VOA about the absence of Iranian films in the main competition of the 76th Cannes Film Festival. According to Farnam, the same situation existed at the Berlin Festival, where no Iranian films were present in the main competition. He adds that this issue should be examined from several angles, primarily that Iranian cinema did not have a film of the caliber to compete at Cannes. Farnam states, 'In the list of selected works at Cannes, we see the names of respected filmmakers like Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Wes Anderson, Ken Loach, and other prominent figures. We do not have many Iranian filmmakers in such a competitive space; of course, Mohammad Rasoulof, Jafar Panahi, and Asghar Farhadi are at that level, but they did not have the conditions to make films.' He further adds, 'Mr. Panahi and Rasoulof were in prison, and Asghar Farhadi was involved in very serious controversies and is outside Iran, likely not making his next film in Iran either.' According to this film producer, 'During a period rightly named the Mahsa Revolution, there was practically no opportunity for filming and making films in Iran for 4-5 months, and of course, one or two months prior, we witnessed a widespread crackdown by the government on Iranian documentarians, followed by the arrests of Rasoulof, Al Ahmad, and Panahi. In other words, there was no time, space, or environment for our independent filmmakers and prominent figures to work, and that is why we did not have a film to compete in prestigious film festivals.' Kaveh Farnam says, 'It should be noted that world cinema is also experiencing a post-COVID period; there are many good films made in the last two years that have not been screened, and therefore there is tough competition for participation in film festivals.' This article is based on a report by the Associated Press.