2015 Cannes Film Festival

The 68th Cannes Film Festival took place from 13 to 24 May 2015. Ethan and Joel Coen were the Co-Presidents of the Jury for the main competition, marking the first time that two people co-chaired the jury. Since the Coen brothers each received a separate vote, they were joined by seven other jurors to form the customary nine-juror panel. French actor Lambert Wilson was the host for the opening and closing ceremonies.
French filmmaker Jacques Audiard won the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, for the drama film Dheepan. During his speech, Audiard stated that "receive a prize from the Coen brothers is something pretty exceptional. I'm very touched". French film director Agnès Varda was presented with the Honorary Palme d'Or at the festival's closing ceremony. She was the first female filmmaker to ever receive the award.
The festival's official poster featured Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman, photographed by David Seymour. The poster was chosen to pay tribute to Bergman for her contributions to films, whom also served as the Jury President at 1973 Cannes Film Festival. As part of the tribute, the documentary Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words was screened in the Cannes Classics section.
The festival opened with Standing Tall by Emmanuelle Bercot, and closed with Ice and the Sky by Luc Jacquet. Both the opening and closing films were selected for the strength and importance of their messages; Standing Tall for the way its themes respond to the Charlie Hebdo shootings and Ice and the Sky for its concern for the future of the planet.
The edition was infamously marked by artistic director Thierry Frémaux pledge to celebrities to abstain from taking selfies on the red carpet. While he did not have the powers to ban the pictures from the red carpet altogether, Fremaux urged celebrities to resist the temptation.
The full jury for the Main Competition was announced on 21 April 2015:
The films competing for the Palme d'Or were announced at a press conference on 16 April 2015. Two films were added to the main competition line-up on 23 April 2015, Valley of Love, directed by Guillaume Nicloux, and Chronic, directed by Michel Franco. The following films were selected to compete for the Palme d'Or:
The following films competed in the Un Certain Regard section. Lamb, the first feature film directed by Yared Zeleke, is also the first Ethiopian film to be included in the Official Selection. Sweet Red Bean Paste, directed by Naomi Kawase, was announced as the opening film for the Un Certain Regard section. The following films were selected to compete in the Un Certain Regard section:
The following films were selected to screen out of competition:
The Cinéfondation section focuses on films made by students at film schools. The following 18 entries (14 fiction films and 4 animation films) were selected out of 1,600 submissions. More than one-third of the films selected represent schools participating in Cinéfondation for the first time. It is also the first time that a film representing a Spanish film school had been selected. The winner of the Cinéfondation First Prize has been highlighted:
Out of 4,550 entries, the following films were selected to compete for the Short Film Palme d'Or. The Short film Palme d'Or winner has been highlighted:
The full line-up for the Cannes Classics section was announced on 30 April 2015. Greek-French film director Costa-Gavras was announced as the guest of honor. In tribute to the recently deceased Portuguese film director, Cannes Classics screened Manoel de Oliveira's posthumous 1982 film Memories and Confessions. The film was previously unseen outside of Portugal.
The Cinéma de la Plage is a part of the Official Selection of the festival. The outdoors screenings at the beach cinema of Cannes are open to the public:
The full selection for the Critics' Week section was announced on 20 April 2015, at the section's website. The Anarchists, directed by Elie Wajeman, and Learn by Heart, directed by Mathieu Vadepied, were selected as the opening and closing films for the Critics' Week section.
The winner of the Nespresso Grand Prize has been highlighted:
The winner of the Discovery Award for Short Film has been highlighted:
The full selection for the Directors' Fortnight section was announced on 21 April 2015, at the section's website. In the Shadow of Women, directed by Philippe Garrel, and Dope, directed by Rick Famuyiwa were selected as the opening and closing films for the Directors' Fortnight section. Actua 1, a previously unseen 1968 short film directed by Garrel, preceded the screening of In the Shadow of Women.
The winner of the Art Cinema Award has been highlighted:
The winner of the Illy Prize for Short Film has been highlighted:
ACID, an association of French and foreign film directors, demonstrates its support for nine films each year, seeking to provide support from filmmakers to other filmmakers. The full ACID selection was announced on 21 April 2015, at the section's website.