# 1981 Cannes Film Festival

The 34th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 27 May 1981. French filmmaker Jacques Deray served as jury president for the main competition.
Polish filmmaker Andrzej Wajda won the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, for the film Man of Iron.
The festival opened with Three Brothers by Francesco Rosi, and closed with Honeysuckle Rose by Jerry Schatzberg.

## Juries

* Jacques Deray, French filmmaker - Jury President
* Ellen Burstyn, American actress
* Jean-Claude Carrière, French author
* Robert Chazal, French film critic
* Attilio d'Onofrio, Italian
* Christian Defaye, Swiss journalist
* Carlos Diegues, Brazilian filmmaker
* Antonio Gala, Spanish author
* Andrei Petrov, Soviet composer
* Douglas Slocombe, British cinematographer

## Official selection
### In Competition

The following feature films competed for the Palme d'Or:
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| Angels of Iron | Engel aus Eisen | Thomas Brasch | West Germany |
| Beau Pere | Beau-père | Bertrand Blier | France |
| Chariots of Fire | Chariots of Fire | Hugh Hudson | United Kingdom, United States |
| Cserepek | Cserepek | István Gaál | Hungary |
| Excalibur | Excalibur | John Boorman | United Kingdom, United States |
| Faktas | Факт | Almantas Grikevičius | Soviet Union |
| Flame Top | Tulipää | Pirjo Honkasalo and Pekka Lehto | Finland |
| Heaven's Gate | Heaven's Gate | Michael Cimino | United States |
| Light Years Away | Les Années lumière | Alain Tanner | France, Switzerland |
| Looks and Smiles | Looks and Smiles | Ken Loach | United Kingdom |
| Man of Iron | Człowiek z żelaza | Andrzej Wajda | Poland |
| Mephisto | Mephisto | István Szabó | Hungary, Austria, West Germany |
| Montenegro | Montenegro eller Pärlor och svin | Dušan Makavejev | Sweden |
| National Heritage | Patrimonio nacional | Luis García Berlanga | Spain |
| Neige | Neige | Juliet Berto | France |
| The Ones and the Others | Les Uns et les Autres | Claude Lelouch | France |
| Passion of Love | Passione d'amore | Ettore Scola | Italy |
| Possession | Possession | Andrzej Żuławski | France, West Germany |
| Quartet | Quartet | James Ivory | France, United Kingdom |
| The Skin | La pelle | Liliana Cavani | Italy |
| Thief | Thief | Michael Mann | United States |
| Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man | La tragedia di un uomo ridicolo | Bernardo Bertolucci | Italy |

### Un Certain Regard

The following films were selected for the Un Certain Regard section:
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| ...And God Created Them | Díos los Cría... | Jacobo Morales | Puerto Rico |
| Arising from the Surface | सतह से उठता आदमी | Mani Kaul | India |
| The Big Night Bathe | Голямото нощно къпане | Binka Zhelyazkova | Bulgaria |
| Cerromaior | Cerromaior | Luís Filipe Rocha | Portugal |
| Eijanaika | ええじゃないか | Shōhei Imamura | Japan |
| I Love You | Eu Te Amo | Arnaldo Jabor | Brazil |
| Let There Be Light | Let There Be Light | John Huston | United States |
| Memoirs of a Survivor | Memoirs of a Survivor | David Gladwell | United Kingdom |
| Un moment de bonheur | Un moment de bonheur | Yves Laumet | France |
| Mur Murs | Mur Murs | Agnès Varda | France |
| A Thousand Little Kisses | אלף נשיקות קטנות | Mira Recanati | Israel |
| The Witness | A tanú | Péter Bacsó | Hungary |
| Who's Singin' Over There? | Ko to tamo peva | Slobodan Šijan | Yugoslavia |
| You Love Only Once | Samo jednom se ljubi | Rajko Grlić | Yugoslavia |

### Out of Competition

The following films were selected to be screened out of competition:
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| Anima – Symphonie phantastique | Anima – Symphonie phantastique | Titus Leber | Austria |
| Blood Wedding | Bodas de sangre | Carlos Saura | Spain |
| From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China | From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China | Murray Lerner | United States, China |
| Hands Up! | Ręce do góry | Jerzy Skolimowski | Poland |
| Havoc in Heaven (1961) | 大鬧天宮 | Wan Laiming | China |
| Honeysuckle Rose (closing film) | Honeysuckle Rose (closing film) | Jerry Schatzberg | United States |
| The Fly (short) | A légy | Ferenc Rofusz | Hungary |
| The Postman Always Rings Twice | The Postman Always Rings Twice | Bob Rafelson | United States |
| Street Angel (1937) | 馬路天使 | Yuan Muzhi | China |
| This Is Elvis | This Is Elvis | Malcolm Leo and Andrew Solt | United States |
| Three Brothers (opening film) | Tre fratelli | Francesco Rosi | Italy, France |
| Troubled Laughter | 苦惱人的笑 | Yang Yanjin and Deng Yimin | China |

### Short Films Competition

The following short films competed for the Short Film Palme d'Or:
* Alephah by Gérald Frydman
* André Derain, thèmes et variations by François Porcile
* Dilemma by John Halas
* Diskzokej by Jiří Barta
* Král a skritek by Lubomír Beneš
* Manövergäste by G. Nicolas Hayek
* Maskirani razbojnik by Petar Lalovic
* Moto Perpetuo by Béla Vajda
* Ne me parlez plus jamais d'amour by Sylvain Madigan
* Le Rat by Elisabeth Huppert
* Ravnovesie by Boiko Kanev
* Trcanje by Dusko Sevo
* Zea by André Leduc

## Parallel sections
### International Critics' Week

The following feature films were screened for the 20th International Critics' Week (20e Semaine de la Critique):
* She Dances Alone by Robert Dornhelm
* The Moth by Tomasz Zygadlo
* Fil, fond, fosfor by Philippe Nahoun
* Kill Hitler by Villi Hermann, Niklaus Meienberg, Hans Stürm
* Malou [de] by Jeanine Meerapfel
* Fertile Memory by Michel Khleifi
* Le Chapeau malheureux by Maria Sos

### Directors' Fortnight

The following films were screened for the 1981 Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalizateurs):
* Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyoon Aata Hai by Saeed Akhtar Mirza
* Alligator Shoes by Clay Borris
* Americana by David Carradine
* Act of Violence by Eduardo Escorel
* Beddegama by Lester James Peries
* Bolivar, Sinfonia Tropical by Diego Rísquez
* Bona by Lino Brocka
* Chakra, Vicious Circle by Rabindra Dharmaraj
* Conversa Acabada by João Botelho
* Desperado City by Vadim Glowna
* No Mercy, No Future by Helma Sanders-Brahms
* Francisca by Manoel De Oliveira
* The Vulture by Yaky Yosha
* The Mark of the Beast by Pieter Verhoeff
* In Defense of People by Rafigh Pooya
* Fruits of Passion by Shuji Terayama
* The Plouffe Family by Gilles Carle
* Memorias Do Medo by Alberto Graça
* Narcissus and Psyche by Gábor Bódy
* Seuls by Francis Reusser
* Tell Me A Riddle by Lee Grant
* Wizja lokalna 1901 by Filip Bajon
    Short films
* Evolution by Sheila Graber
* Face To Face by Sheila Graber
* Le Miroir Vivant by Eunice Hutchins, Norbert Barnich
* Michelangelo by Sheila Graber
* Music For Film by Jean-Claude Wouters
* Pour Trois Minutes De Gloire by Jean-Claude Bronckart
* T.V.O. by Carlos Castillo
* The Electric Disco Chicken by Bob Goodness
* Tous Les Garcons by Yves Laberge
* Tre Per Eccesso by Giampierro Vinciguerra
* Uno Para Todos, Todos Para Todos by Carlos Castillo

## Official Awards
### In Competition

* Palme d'Or: Man of Iron by Andrzej Wajda
* Grand Prix: Light Years Away by Alain Tanner
* Best Screenplay: István Szabó for Mephisto
* Best Actress: Isabelle Adjani for Quartet and Possession
* Best Actor: Ugo Tognazzi for Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man
* Best Supporting Actress: Yelena Solovey for Faktas
* Best Supporting Actor: Ian Holm for Chariots of Fire
* Best Artistic Contribution: Excalibur by John Boorman

### Caméra d'Or

* Desperado City by Vadim Glowna

### Short Film Palme d'Or

* Moto Perpetuo by Béla Vajda
* Jury Prize:
** Le Rat by Elisabeth Huppert
** Zea by André Leduc

## Independent Awards
### FIPRESCI Prizes

* Malou [de] by Jeanine Meerapfel (International Critics' Week)
* Mephisto by István Szabó (In competition)

### Commission Supérieure Technique

* Technical Grand Prize: Les Uns et les Autres for the sound quality

### Prize of the Ecumenical Jury

* Man of Iron by Andrzej Wajda
** Special Mention:
*** Chariots of Fire by Hugh Hudson
*** Looks and Smiles by Ken Loach

### Young Cinema Award

* Looks and Smiles by Ken Loach
* Neige by Juliet Berto and Jean-Henri Roger