‘Titane’ Wins Top Cannes Film Festival 2021 Honor

Reported by: Ekaterina Shevliakova

Julia Ducournau's “Titane,” a wild body-horror thriller featuring sex with a car and a surprisingly tender heart, won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, making Julia Ducournau the second female filmmaker to win the festival’s top honor in its 74 year history.

The win was mistakenly announced by jury president Spike Lee at the top of the show, unleashing a few moments of confusion. Ducournau did not immediately come to the stage to accept the award, instead waiting until the formal announcement at the end of the ceremony. At the end, the win for “Titane” was announced by Lee and presenter Sharon Stone.

After the flub, the ceremony continued and other awards were handed out while Lee was seen with his head in his hands.

The Grand Prix award was a joint honor split between the Iranian drama “A Hero” and Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen’s “Apartment No. 6.”

Best director was awarded to Leos Carax for “Annette,” the fantastical musical that opened the festival. The award was accepted by the musical duo Sparks, who wrote the script and music for the film.

The Croatian coming-of-age drama “Murina,” by Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović, took the Camera d’Or award, a non-jury prize, for best first feature.

For more on the winners, visit: https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/

About Cannes Film Festival:

The Cannes Festival (French: Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (Festival international du film) and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around the world. Founded in 1946, the invitation-only festival is held annually (usually in May) at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès. The festival was formally accredited by the FIAPF in 1951

On 1 July 2014, co-founder and former head of French pay-TV operator Canal+, Pierre Lescure, took over as President of the Festival, while Thierry Frémaux became the General Delegate. The board of directors also appointed Gilles Jacob as Honorary President of the Festival.

It is one of the "Big Three" major European film festivals, alongside the Venice Film Festival in Italy and the Berlin International Film Festival in Germany, as well as one of the "Big Five" major international film festivals, which consists of the three major European film festivals, the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada, and the Sundance Film Festival in the United States.

Photo credit: AFP