Glamour was the name of the game during the Closing Ceremony of the 77th Cannes Film Festival in France on Saturday.
Demi Moore showed off her chic sense of style as she walked the red carpet in a black off-the-shoulder dress with a large white bow and a thigh-high split.
The US actress, 61, star of the body horror film The Substance, completed her look by wearing a pair of black open-toed heels and some dazzling silver and diamond jewellery.
Jury Member Eva Green was vision in a shimmering silver sequinned floor-length dress, with the French actress cutting a statuesque figure as she posed on the red carpet.
The 43-year-old star’s gown featured a plunging neckline and the train of the garment rested on the ground beside her.
Andie MacDowell ensured she caught the eye of onlookers as she arrived in a flowing purple gown for the ceremony.
The sleeveless garment was cinched in at the waist and she held out the pleated skirt as she posed.
American actress Andie wore a pair of black heels to add a few inches to her stature and wore some glitzy statement jewellery for the evening.
Meanwhile, Elle Fanning cut an angelic figure in a flowing white semi-sheer Gucci gown with plunging neckline.
The American actress, 26, posed up a storm on the red carpet, ensuring her garment took on a number of shapes in the gentle breeze.
She showed off the backless feature of the gown as she glanced back over her shoulder, with the dress covered in glistening silver rhinestones.
Sean Baker’s Anora, a comic but devastating Brooklyn odyssey about a sex worker who marries the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch, has won the Cannes Film Festival’s top award, the Palme d’Or.
Baker accepted the prize with his film’s star, Mikey Madison, watching in the audience at the Cannes closing ceremony on Saturday.
The US actress, 61, star of the body horror film The Substance, completed her look by wearing a pair of black open-toed heels and some dazzling silver and diamond jewellery
Demi blew kisses to the crowd as she arrived at the glitzy, star-studded event
Jury Member Eva Green was vision in a shimmering silver sequinned floor-length dress, with the French actress cutting a statuesque figure as she posed on the red carpet
The 43-year-old star’s gown featured a plunging neckline and the train of the garment rested on the ground beside her
The win for Anora marks a new high point for Baker, the director of The Florida Project.
It is also the fifth straight Palme d’Or won by indie distributor Neon, following Parasite, Titane, Triangle Of Sadness and last year’s winner, Anatomy Of A Fall.
‘I don’t really know what’s happening right now,’ said Baker.
While Anora was arguably the most acclaimed film of the festival, its win was a slight surprise. Many expected either the gentle Indian drama All We Imagine As Light or the Iranian film The Seed Of The Sacred Fig to win. Both of those films also took home prizes.
It was not the only surprise of the closing ceremony. Before George Lucas was given an honorary Palme d’Or, his old friend and sometimes collaborator Francis Ford Coppola appeared to present it to him, reuniting two of the most pivotal figures of the last half-century of American moviemaking.
All We Imagine As Light, about sisterhood in modern Mumbai, won the Grand Prix, Cannes’ second-highest honour. Payal Kapadia’s second feature was the first Indian in competition in Cannes in 30 years.
The jury awarded a special prize to Mohammad Rasoulof’s The Seed Of The Sacred Fig, a drama made secretly in Iran.
Coralie Fargeat’s body horror film The Substance, starring Demi Moore as a Hollywood actress who goes to gory extremes to remain youthful, won for best screenplay.
‘I really believe that movies can change the world, so I hope this movie will be a little stone to build new foundations,’ said Fargeat.
‘I really think we need a revolution and I don’t think it has really started yet.’
Andie MacDowell ensured she caught the eye of onlookers as she arrived in a flowing purple gown for the ceremony
The sleeveless garment was cinched in at the waist and she held out the pleated skirt as she posed
American actress Andie wore a pair of black heels to add a few inches to her stature and wore some glitzy statement jewellery for the evening
Andie was in good spirits as she held her hands in the air while posing on the red carpet this weekend
Elle Fanning cut an angelic figure in a flowing white semi-sheer Gucci gown with plunging neckline
The American actress, 26, posed up a storm on the red carpet, ensuring her garment took on a number of shapes in the gentle breeze
Elle flashed a broad smile as she posed in her glamorous white gown for the evening before heading into the venue on the French Riviera
She showed off the backless feature of the gown as she glanced back over her shoulder, with the dress covered in glistening silver rhinestones
The 77th Cannes Film Festival was drawing to a close on Saturday with the presentation of its top award, the Palme d’Or, along with an honorary tribute for George Lucas
Cannes invites prize winners to the ceremony but does not divulge what awards they are winning
Among the film teams on the red carpet were those for Sean Baker’s Anora, Mohammad Rosoulof’s The Seed Of The Sacred Fig and Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Perez
Any of the 22 films that premiered in competition at Cannes are eligible for the Palme d’Or and other prizes, such as the Grand Prix, best actress and best actor
The jury’s deliberations take place in secret but a handful of films are seen as the most likely contenders, among them Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light, Rasoulof’s The Seed Of The Sacred Fig and Baker’s Anora
Some thought Moore might take best actress but that award instead went to an ensemble of actors: Karla Sofia Gascon, Zoe Saldana, Selena Gomez and Adriana Paz for Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Perez, a Spanish-language musical about a Mexican drug lord who transitions to a woman. Gascon, who accepted the award, is the first trans actor to win a major prize at Cannes.
Emilia Perez also won Cannes’ jury prize, giving a rare two awards at a festival where prizes are usually spread around.
Best actor went to Jesse Plemons for Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds Of Kindness. In the film, three stories are told with largely the same company of actors. Plemons, a standout in several chapters, did not attend the closing ceremony.
Portuguese director Miguel Gomes won best director for his Grand Tour, an Asian odyssey in which a man flees his fiancee from Rangoon in 1917.
‘Sometimes I get lucky,’ shrugged Gomes.
The Camera d’Or, the prize for best first feature across all of Cannes official selections, went to Halfdan Ullmann Tondel for Armand, starring The Worst Person In The World star Renate Reinsve. Tondel is the grandson of Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman and Norwegian actor Liv Ullman.
George Lucas poses with the Honorary Palme D’Or during the Palme D’Or winners photocall at the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals
George reflected on his decades-long career at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, ahead of receiving the honorary Palme d’or award during the closing ceremony, saying perseverance is key to filmmaking (George, left, pictured with Sean Baker, right)
‘A filmmaker should always have the right to do what he has imagined. It’s a concept that comes to us from Michelangelo. He wanted everything to be perfect. The big secret is that you have to persevere,’ he said
The 2024 Cannes Film Festival winners were announced on Saturday, with Anora receiving the coveted Palm D’Or prize (director Sean Baker is pictured accepting the award)
Also conquering the podium was Selena Gomez , who earned the Best Actress gong for her role in Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Perez, along with an ensemble of female actors
Although many odds pointed in the direction of Demi Moore – acclaimed for her competition debut The Substance – it was Emilia Perez to dominate ultimately, a Spanish-language musical about a Mexican drug lord who transitions to a woman (pictured Zoe Saldana)
Madrid-born actress Karla Sofia, 52, who accepted the award, is the first trans actor to win a major prize at Cannes, as she stars at the leading character (pictured middle with Jacques Audiard, George Lucas, and Sean Baker)
Further proving the success of the musical crime comedy, Emilia Perez also won Cannes’ jury prize
Elsewhere Jesse Plemons won Best Actor for his ‘standout’ performance in Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds of Kindness, but the actor was also not present at the closing ceremony
Jesse Plemons was awarded Best Actor for his performance in Kinds of Kindness, though he was not in attendance to accept
During the brief awards ceremony, Lucas was to be given an honorary Palme d’Or. During the festival, Cannes gave the same tribute to Meryl Streep and the Japanese anime factory Studio Ghibli.
George Lucas reflected on his decades-long career at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, ahead of receiving the honorary Palme d’or award during the closing ceremony on Saturday.
The US writer, director and producer created the Star Wars franchise, beginning with the first film in 1977, as well as creating the Indiana Jones series.
Lucas, who turned 80 earlier this month, was welcomed with a standing ovation which lasted several minutes as he reflected on his career at the French festival – a day before receiving the honour at the Grand Theatre Lumiere.
‘I’m a perfectionist,’ he told the crowd, according to the Cannes Film Festival.
‘After the first three Star Wars movies, I returned to my films with digital technology to arrange or finish what hadn’t been finished.
‘A filmmaker should always have the right to do what he has imagined. It’s a concept that comes to us from Michelangelo.
‘He wanted everything to be perfect.
‘The big secret is that you have to persevere. I fought for each of my films. I was even ready to finance them myself, because making movies is my passion.’
Joey King looked sensational in a custom Miu Miu yellow floor-length gown as she arrived at the Cannes Film Festival Closing Ceremony
Joey wore a pair of sheer black gloves adorned with mirrored silver crystals for the evening
She wore some glistening silver and diamond earrings for her outing
Lucas said he was ‘struck by a feeling of nostalgia’ in Cannes this year, as he had often attended the festival for the Indiana Jones and Star Wars films.
‘I obviously have a lot of fans, but I’ve never made award-winning films. That’s why receiving this Palme d’or is a great honour,’ he told the crowd.
Last year, Indiana Jones and Star Wars actor Harrison Ford was awarded the French film festival’s highest honour.
Lucas first worked with Ford on the 1973 comedy American Graffiti before casting him as Han Solo alongside Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker, and Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia, in the now-titled Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.
‘One day, an executive at Fox saw American Graffiti and he loved the film,’ Lucas said.
‘He told me that I could ask for what I wanted and I’d get it. So I told him the story of Star Wars, with dogs that pilot space ships.
‘He was steadfast in his belief in the film. Once I had finished, I showed it to the studios and they hated it.
‘They finally agreed to release it in 30 theatres. But people were starting to line up to see it and the enthusiasm for the film was spreading. Fox finally extended the release to a thousand theatres and the film was a big box office hit.’
The 77th Cannes Film Festival was drawing to a close on Saturday with the presentation of its top award, the Palme d’Or, along with an honorary tribute for George Lucas.
Cannes invites prize winners to the ceremony but does not divulge what awards they are winning.
Sofia Carson wore an olive green off-the-shoulder gown which swept the floor as she posed ahead of the Closing Ceremony
Among the film teams on the red carpet were those for Sean Baker’s Anora, Mohammad Rosoulof’s The Seed Of The Sacred Fig and Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Perez. Also in attendance was Demi Moore, star of the body horror film The Substance.
Any of the 22 films that premiered in competition at Cannes are eligible for the Palme d’Or and other prizes, such as the Grand Prix, best actress and best actor. Deciding them all will be the nine-person jury presided over this year by Greta Gerwig.
The jury’s deliberations take place in secret but a handful of films are seen as the most likely contenders, among them Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light, Rasoulof’s The Seed Of The Sacred Fig and Baker’s Anora.
The Seed Of The Sacred Fig, about an Iranian family living through the country’s 2022 protests, was shot clandestinely in Iran and includes real videos from the demonstrations.
Just ahead of its Cannes debut, Rasoulof, facing an eight-year prison sentence, fled Iran. He arrived in Cannes several days ago and, on the red carpet, held up photographs of two of his actors, Soheila Golestani and Missagh Zareh.
All We Imagine As Light, the first Indian film in competition in Cannes for 30 years, is about two nurses who forge a bond in modern Mumbai. It is Kapadia’s second feature, following the documentary A Night of Knowing Nothing.
She wore some bold silver and diamond jewellery and waved to onlookers as she arrived
Anora, by the American filmmaker of The Florida Project, is about a Brooklyn sex worker who marries the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch, provoking a farcical rush to annul the marriage. The film’s star, Mikey Madison, gives one of the most widely hailed performances of the festival.
Other much talked about entries include the sci-fi epic Megalopolis from Francis Ford Coppola, a two-time winner of the Palme d’Or; Coralie Fargeat’s gory body-horror satire The Substance, starring Moore; and Audiard’s Emilia Perez, a Spanish-language musical about a Mexican drug lord who transitions to a woman. Audiard previously won the Palme for 2015’s Dheepan.
During the brief awards ceremony, Lucas will be given an honorary Palme d’Or. During the festival, Cannes gave the same tribute to Meryl Streep and the Japanese anime factory Studio Ghibli.
Following the awards, the winner of the Palme will be screened for the audience in the Grand Theatre Lumiere.