cannes

The dominant trend was embroidered, embossed and beaded gowns in neutrals and black that stunned. Models appeared in hoards – they stood out in a crowd for being barely clothed and not smiling.

Ken Loach, a Cannes veteran since 1979, an a Palme D’Or winner in 2006 for The Wind That Shakes the Barley did it again – his I, Daniel Blake took the top prize at the 69th Cannes Film Festival. The drama about a working class family coping with the infernal labyrinth of social welfare bureaucracy was one of best reviewed and liked at the festival, but the win came as a surprise nonetheless.

Ken Loach, one of the greatest living British filmmakers – alongside Mike Leigh and Terence Davies – may become the oldest working director in the UK.  At 80, with a solid body of work that consists of 19 films, he still shows his strong, unfailing commitment to social issues cinema – slanted toward left-wing politics.

We met Danish director and writer Nicolas Winding Refn on the set of his new film, the horror-thriller The Neon Demon, starring Elle Fanning and Keanu Reeves. It's the story of an aspiring model Jesse (Fanning) who moves to Los Angeles, when her youth and vitality are devoured by a group of beauty-obsessed women who will take any means necessary to get what she has.

The jury has convened, the Marché has wrapped up, and most celebrities have hopped on their yachts and private jets. Awards have been trickling in: Un Certain Regard chose a Finnish boxing drama and an actor-turned-director; the International Federation of Film Critics awarded the prize for competition films to Toni Erdmann – already a favorite for the Palme D’Or –and the nod for non-competition entries to the Romanian Dogs, shown in Un Certain Regard; and last but certainly not least, the Palm Dog for best canine performance went to Nellie, the English bulldog who played opposite Adam Driver in Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson (sadly, Nellie passed away a few weeks back, making her Palm Dog the first to be awarded posthumously).

The winners of the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival were announced -in a mix of languages: French, English and even Japanese-- in a short ceremony at the Debussy Theater on Saturday evening, the penultimate night of the festival. The members of the jury presented the awards to an eclectic range of international films.

Cannes – the film festival is so French, so cool. They have shoe requirements for women: you have to wear heels.

A new batch of awards was announced, the last films in competition were screened and the jury was honored with a lunch offered by the Cannes mayor. But everyone wanted to talk about the 23rd amfAR gala held at the exclusive, secluded and luxurious Hotel du Cap, to raise funds for AIDS research.

After making the inconsequential airplane farce I’m So Excited! (arguably his weakest film in a career spanning 36 years), Pedro Almodovar is back on terra firma with Julieta, a femme-driven tale that justifies his title as a great woman's director, or rather a filmmaker who has specialized in telling emotionally touching stories about all kinds of women--of various ages, social classes, professions. Julieta has already opened in Spain, but it receives its high-prtofile international premiere at the Cannes Film Festival (in competition).

Only a couple of days left before the main prizes are awarded, tents are taken down and the movie circus leaves town.   The future beyond the Palais all of a sudden becomes urgent.