After Thirteen Years, an American Filmmaker Wins the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival

The film "Anora" by Sean Baker, tells the story of a Russian-American sex worker who marries the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch, and won the Palme d'Or at this year's 77th Cannes Film Festival. Baker is the first American filmmaker to win this prestigious cinematic award since Terrence Malick, who won it in 2011 for "The Tree of Life." He stated that his only goal is to "keep cinema alive." Baker added that the world needs reminding that "watching a movie at home while scrolling on your phone and responding to emails is not the right way, even though some tech companies would like us to think so." The 53-year-old filmmaker had used an iPhone to make his 2015 film "Tangerine." Renowned American filmmaker George Lucas also received an honorary Palme d'Or from his old friend Francis Ford Coppola, bringing these two cinema legends together. On the last day of the festival, prominent Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, who won the Jury's Special Prize for his film "The Fig Tree Seeds," criticized the Islamic Republic in his speech. After receiving the award, which was met with a long applause from the audience, he said: "First of all, I want to remember the film crew and actors who could not attend the festival and are under severe pressure from security institutions in Iran, including actors, cinematographers, sound engineers, and all those who helped, and are under pressure from the oppressive and tyrannical rule of the Islamic Republic." Mohammad Rasoulof, who illegally left Iran before the Cannes festival, was one of the main contenders for the award in the main competitive section of Cannes. He stated that his film is about the family of a revolutionary court official during the recent nationwide protests in Iran, drawn from his personal experiences with the Islamic Republic's judicial system. A photo report from the 77th Cannes Film Festival shows Mohammad Rasoulof after receiving the Jury's Special Prize: "The people of Iran are being held hostage by the Islamic Republic." Mohammad Rasoulof received the Jury's Special Prize at Cannes and stated to Voice of America: "I have received my award." Rasoulof was cheered on the red carpet as an exiled Iranian director at Cannes.