# 1991 Cannes Film Festival

The 44th Cannes Film Festival was held from 9 to 20 May 1991. French-Polish filmmaker Roman Polanski served as jury president for the main competition.
American filmmakers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen won the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, for the comedy film Barton Fink.
The festival opened with Homicide by David Mamet, and closed with Thelma & Louise by Ridley Scott.

## Juries
### Main competition

* Roman Polanski, French-Polish filmmaker - Jury President
* Férid Boughedir, Tunisian filmmaker
* Whoopi Goldberg, American actress
* Margaret Ménégoz, German-French producer
* Natalya Negoda, Soviet actress
* Alan Parker, British filmmaker
* Jean-Paul Rappeneau, French filmmaker
* Hans Dieter Seidel, German film critic
* Vittorio Storaro, Italian cinematographer
* Vangelis, Greek musician

### Camera d'Or

* Geraldine Chaplin, American actress - Jury President
* Jan Aghed, Swedish journalist
* Didier Beaudet, French
* Gilles Colpart, French film critic
* Roger Kahane, French film director
* Fernando Lara, Spanish cinephile
* Eva Sirbu, Romanian journalist
* Myriam Zemmour, French cinephile

## Official selection
### In Competition

The following feature films competed for the Palme d'Or:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| The Assassin of the Tsar | Цареубийца | Karen Shakhnazarov | Soviet Union |
| Anna Karamazoff | Анна Карамазофф | Rustam Khamdamov | Soviet Union |
| Barton Fink | Barton Fink | Joel Coen and Ethan Coen | United States |
| La Belle Noiseuse | La Belle Noiseuse | Jacques Rivette | France, Switzerland |
| Bix | Bix | Pupi Avati | Italy |
| Cold Moon | Lune froide | Patrick Bouchitey | France |
| The Double Life of Veronique | La double vie de Véronique | Krzysztof Kieślowski | Poland, France, Norway |
| Europa | Europa | Lars von Trier | Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland |
| The Flesh | La carne | Marco Ferreri | Italy |
| Guilty by Suspicion | Guilty by Suspicion | Irwin Winkler | United States, France |
| Homicide (opening film) | Homicide (opening film) | David Mamet | United States |
| Jungle Fever | Jungle Fever | Spike Lee | United States |
| Life on a String | 边走边唱 | Chen Kaige | China |
| Malina | Malina | Werner Schroeter | Germany, Austria |
| Out of Life | Hors la vie | Maroun Bagdadi | France |
| A Rage in Harlem | A Rage in Harlem | Bill Duke | United States |
| The Suspended Step of the Stork | Το Mετέωρο Bήμα Tου Πελαργού | Theo Angelopoulos | Greece |
| Van Gogh | Van Gogh | Maurice Pialat | France |
| The Yes Man | Il portaborse | Daniele Luchetti | Italy |

### Un Certain Regard

The following films were selected for the Un Certain Regard section:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| Boyz n the Hood | Boyz n the Hood | John Singleton | United States |
| Burial of a Potato | Pogrzeb kartofla | Jan Jakub Kolski | Poland |
| A Captive in the Land | Пленник земли | John Berry | Soviet Union, United States |
| The Chosen One | Ishanou | Aribam Syam Sharma | India |
| Comrade Chkalov Crosses the North Pole | Переход товарища Чкалова через Северный полюс | Maksim Pezhemsky | Soviet Union |
| L'entraînement du champion avant la course | L'entraînement du champion avant la course | Bernard Favre | France |
| Escape from the 'Liberty' Cinema | Ucieczka z kina 'Wolność' | Wojciech Marczewski | Poland |
| Fire! | Ta Dona | Adama Drabo | Mali |
| Friends, Comrades | Ystävät, toverit | Rauni Mollberg | Finland |
| Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse | Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse | Fax Bahr and George Hickenlooper | United States |
| Holidays on the River Yarra | Holidays on the River Yarra | Leo Berkeley | Australia |
| In the Alleys of Love | در کوچه‌های عشق | Khosrow Sinai | Iran |
| Lebewohl, Fremde | Lebewohl, Fremde | Tevfik Başer | Germany |
| Paths of Death and Angels | Halálutak és angyalok | Zoltán Kamondi | Hungary |
| Revenge | Месть | Yermek Shinarbayev | Soviet Union |
| The Tradition | Laada | Drissa Toure | Burkina Faso |
| Sango Malo | Sango Malo | Bassek Ba Kobhio | Cameroon, Burkina Faso |
| Treasure Island | L'île au trésor | Raúl Ruiz | United Kingdom, France, United States |
| Woman of the Port | La mujer del puerto | Arturo Ripstein | Mexico |
| Yumeji | 夢二 | Seijun Suzuki | Japan |

### Out of Competition

The following films were selected to be screened out of competition:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| Le film du cinéma suisse | Le film du cinéma suisse | Michel Soutter and Jean-François Amiguet | Switzerland |
| Jacquot de Nantes | Jacquot de Nantes | Agnès Varda | France |
| Life Stinks | Life Stinks | Mel Brooks | United States |
| Madonna: Truth or Dare | Madonna: Truth or Dare | Alek Keshishian | United States |
| Prospero's Books | Prospero's Books | Peter Greenaway | United Kingdom, Netherlands, France, Italy, Japan |
| Rhapsody in August | 八月の狂詩曲 | Akira Kurosawa | Japan |
| Thelma & Louise (closing film) | Thelma & Louise (closing film) | Ridley Scott | United States |

### Short Films Competition

The following short films competed for the Short Film Palme d'Or:
* Broken Skin by Anna Campion
* Casino by Gil Bauwens
* Les éffaceurs by Gérald Frydman
* Ja, Wałęsa by Jacek Skalski
* Mal de blocs by Marc Saint-Pierre, Nathalie Saint-Gelais
* La Noce by Régis Obadia, Joëlle Bouvier
* Nokturno by Nikola Majdak
* Push Comes to Shove by Bill Plympton
* La vie selon Luc by Jean-Paul Civeyrac
* W.A.L. by Robert Turlo
* With Hands Raised (Z podniesionymi rekami) by Mitko Panov

## Parallel sections
### International Critics' Week

The following films were screened for the 30th International Critics' Week (30e Semaine de la Critique):
Feature film competition
* Diabły, diabły by Dorota Kędzierzawska (Poland)
* Laafi - Tout va bien by S. Pierre Yameogo (Burkina Faso)
* Liquid Dreams by Mark S. Manos (United States)
* Robert's Movie by Canan Gerede (Turkey)
* Sam & Me by Deepa Mehta (Canada)
* Trumpet Number 7 by Adrian Velicescu (United States)
* La Vie des morts by Arnaud Desplechin (France)
* Young Soul Rebels by Isaac Julien (United Kingdom)
Short film competition
* Carne by Gaspar Noé (France)
* Die mysreriosen lebenslinien by David Rühm (Austria)
* Livraison à domicile by Claude Philippot (France)
* A Nice Arrangement by Gurinder Chadha (United Kingdom)
* Once Upon a Time by Kristian Petri (Sweden)
* Petit drame dans la vie d’une femme by Andrée Pelletier (Canada)
* Une Symphonie du havre by Barbara Doran (Canada)

### Directors' Fortnight

The following films were screened for the 1991 Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalizateurs):
* The Adjuster by Atom Egoyan
* Annabelle partagée by Francesca Comencini
* The Cabinet of Dr. Ramirez by Peter Sellars
* Chichkhan by Fadhel Jaïbi, M. Ben Mahmoud
* Danzón by Maria Novaro
* O Drapetis by Lefteris Xanthopoulos
* És mégis... by Zsolt Kézdi-Kovács
* An Imaginary Tale (Une histoire inventée) by André Forcier
* The Indian Runner by Sean Penn
* Lost In Siberia by Alexander Mitta
* Ovo Malo Duse by Ademir Kenović
* Paris Trout by Stephen Gyllenhaal
* Proof by Jocelyn Moorhouse
* Adam's Rib by Vyacheslav Krishtofovich
* Riff-Raff by Ken Loach
* Toto the Hero (Toto le héros) by Jaco Van Dormael
* Suffocating Heat (Caldo soffocante) by Giovanna Gagliardo
    Short films
* Le Caire by Youssef Chahine

## Official Awards
### In Competition

* Palme d'Or: Barton Fink by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
* Grand Prize of the Jury: La Belle Noiseuse by Jacques Rivette
* Best Director: Joel Coen for Barton Fink
* Best Actress: Irène Jacob for The Double Life of Veronique
* Best Actor: John Turturro for Barton Fink
* Best Supporting Actor: Samuel L. Jackson for Jungle Fever
* Jury Prize:
** Europa by Lars von Trier
** Out of Life by Maroun Bagdadi

### Caméra d'Or

* Toto le Héros by Jaco Van Dormael
** Special Mention:
*** Proof by Jocelyn Moorhouse
*** Sam & Me by Deepa Mehta

### Short Film Palme d'Or

* With Hands Raised by Mitko Panov
* Special Jury Prize: Push Comes to Shove by Bill Plympton

## Independent Awards
### FIPRESCI Prizes

* The Double Life of Veronique by Krzysztof Kieślowski (In competition)
* Riff-Raff by Ken Loach (Directors' Fortnight)

### Commission Supérieure Technique

* Technical Grand Prize: Lars von Trier for Europa

### Prize of the Ecumenical Jury

* The Double Life of Veronique by Krzysztof Kieślowski
** Special Mention:
*** Jungle Fever by Spike Lee
*** La Belle Noiseuse by Jacques Rivette

### Award of the Youth

* Foreign Film: Toto le Héros by Jaco Van Dormael
* French Film: Cheb by Rachid Bouchareb

### International Critics' Week

* SACD Award:
** Best Short: Carne by Gaspar Noé
** Best Feature: Young Soul Rebels by Isaac Julien