Embrace Of The Serpent |
The Cannes Film Festival reaches its award-laden closing weekend with the revelation that the Directors’ Fortnight top award has gone to Embrace Of The Serpent by Colombian director Ciro Guerra.
The third film from the director deals with an Amazonian shaman and two scientists who build a friendship over more than four decades. Shot in black and white, the film was inspired d by the journals of two explorers: Theodor Koch-Grunberg from Germany and the American Richard Evans Schultes.
The SACD prize for the best French-language film in the section was bestowed on Arnaud Desplechin’s My Golden Days. Mustang by Deniz Gamze Erguven scooped the Europa Cinemas award. The Turkish film deals with five sisters who are deprived of their basic freedoms.
Finally the Illy prize for best short film went to Fyzal Boulifa’s Rate Me, which follows a teenage escort named “Coco.”
Tomorrow (Saturday 23 May) will see other awards including the FIPRESCI prizes from international critics participating in the Festival. The main awards ceremony is on Sunday (24 May) when the jury presided over by the Coen Brothers will pronounce.