CANNES – Iranian star Shahab Hosseini won the best actor award at the Cannes film festival Sunday for his role as a husband shaken by an attack on his wife in “The Salesman”.
The 42-year-old won a Golden Globe in for his part in 2011’s “A Separation”, which was also directed by Iranian master Asghar Farhadi. “This prize belongs to my people and I give it to them with all my heart,” he said.
“It’s Only the End of the World” wins grand prize, “American Honey” the jury prize; acting awards go to Jaclyn Jose for “Ma’ Rosa” and Shahab Hosseini for “The Salesman”
In a huge surprise, Ken Loach‘s working-class drama “I, Daniel Blake” has won the Palme d’Or as the best film of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival at a ceremony in the Grand Theatre Lumiere on Sunday evening in Cannes.
It marks the veteran British director’s second Palme. His first came for “The Wind That Shakes the Barley” a decade ago. Romanian director Cristian Mungiu and Frenchman Olivier Assayas tied for the best director award for “Graduation” and “Personal Shopper,” respectively.
The Jury Prize, in effect the third-place award, was given to British director Andrea Arnold‘s raucous “American Honey.” It marks the third time Arnold has won that award, after “Red Road” and “Fish Tank.”
The acting awards, both significant surprises, went to Filipino actress Jaclyn Jose for “Ma’ Rosa” and Iranian actor Shahab Hosseini for “The Salesman.” The pre-ceremony favorites were Sonia Braga for “Aquarius” and Adam Driver for “Paterson.”
The screenplay winner was Asghar Farhadi for “The Salesman,” making it one of the rare films to win two awards at Cannes. The Camera d’Or, the award for the best first film at the festival, went to “Divines” by Houda Benyamina.
The 21-film competition field at this year’s festival was considered extremely strong, with the best-received films including Maren Ade’s family dramedy “Toni Erdmann,” “American Honey,” Jim Jarmusch‘s quiet “Paterson,” Park Chan-wook‘s wildly stylish “The Handmaiden,” Kleber Mendonca Filho’s character study “Aquarius,” Cristi Puiu’s slowly-paced “Sieranevada” and Paul Verhoeven‘s transgressive “Elle.”
The 2016 Cannes Film Festival jury is headed by “Mad Max” director George Miller, and also includes actors Donald Sutherland and Mads Mikkelsen, actresses Kirsten Dunst, Valeria Golino and Vanessa Paradis, directors Laszlo Nemes and Arnaud Desplechin and producer Katayoon Shahabi.
Short film awards went to “Timecode” by Juanjo Gimenez and “The Girl Who Danced With the Devil” by Joao Paulo Miranda Maria. French actor Jean-Pierre Leaud (“The 400 Blows,” “Alphaville,” “Day for Night”) received an honorary Palme d’Or.
The awards:
Palme d’Or: “I, Daniel Blake”
Grand Prize: “It’s Only the End of the World,” Xavier Dolan
Jury Prize: “American Honey,” Andrea Arnold
Best Director: (tie) Cristian Mungiu, “Graduation” (“Bacalaureat”); Olivier Assayas, “Personal Shopper”
Best Actress: Jaclyn Jose, “Ma’ Rosa”
Best Actor: Shahab Hosseini, “The Salesman”
Best Screenplay: Asghar Farhadi, “The Salesman”
Camera d’Or (best first feature): “Divines,” Houda Benyamina
Best Short Film: “Timecode,” Juanjo Gimenez
Short Film Special Mention: “The Girl Who Danced With the Devil,” Joao Paulo Miranda Maria
Honorary Palme d’Or: Jean-Pierre Leaud