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The 70th edition of the Cannes Film Festival came to a close on the same wave length as it started – as a celebration of innovation, diversity and inclusion. With women featuring prominently in this year’s line-up, it was only natural that they left a mark on the final choices, with Sofia Coppola (best director), Lynne Ramsay (best screenplay), Léonor Serraille (Caméra d’Or) and Chloe Zhao (Directors Fortnight) winning behind the camera, Jasmine Trinca taking the Un Certain Regard solitary acting award, and Nicole Kidman winning pretty much the whole festival, with four powerhouse performances that earned her the special 70th Anniversary Award.

Cannes 70 is in the books and this year’s Palmarés included a Special Prize for Nicole Kidman, to go with her 11 Golden Globe nominations, three Globe wins and all her other accolades. It was almost inevitable given that the undisputed queen of the Croisette appeared  in a record four films: John Cameron Mitchell’s How to Talk to Girls at Parties, Sophia Coppola’s The Beguiled, Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Killing of a Sacred Deer and Jane Campion’s Top of the Lake 2: China Girl.

“I certainly have not been paid the same as a male star. Sometimes I've had to accept (the pay disparity) for financial reasons, or because I really wanted to play that role.

The pastels have faded and white – but mostly black – dominate on the carpet. EvaGreen, Uma Thurman and Miriam Odemba were standouts – click to see more photos.

Some awards have already been given - Cinefondation, Directors Fortnight, Un Certain Regard, Critics' Week - and as of end of day today, with the gala premiere of Lynne Ramsay's You Were Never Really Here, all films in competition would have been screened. A thick veil of suspense envelops the Croisette as Pedro Almodóvar's jury debates the merits of this jubilee year's selection.

Born in Sweden, catapulted to stardom by Hollywood, Ingrid Bergman is such an integral part of Cannes that the festival made her the face of the event in 2015, the centenary of her birth.   She visited the festival many times and was president of the competition jury in 1973.

The introspective comedies of Noah Baumbach have established him as one of the most distinctive voices working in American cinema today. Recently his films have been populated by millennials and gen-xers feeling their way though life’s existential and emotional choices as if they’d misplaced the instruction manual.

After color drenching the carpet for the first part of the festival, black and white has dominated in the last two days. The twist is the geometry of the patterns in an exquisite, modern way.

Consider the life of a Cannes jury member - there's basically two activities in her/his agenda:  watching the best international films available at the moment and attending whatever events tickle her/his fancy among the vast opportunities available; this, in a country famous for the excellence of its cuisine, wines and parties. The job, of course, also comes with a tremendous amount of pressure and responsibility.

There have been plenty of soft palettes and bold brights at Cannes 70th Film Festival, but Thursday demonstrated why black and white will never go away. Click for more pics of Diane Kruger, Robert Pattinson and the always-stunning Jaqueline Bisset.