A three-hour lesbian drama called Blue is the Warmest Color by Franco-Tunisian director Abdellatif Kechiche has won the top prize, the prestigious Palme d’Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. It was widely anticipated that this devastatingly emotional film about a love affair between two young women would scoop the top prize, however it faced stiff competition from the Coen Brothers Inside Llewyn Davis. The Coen Brothers had to settle for second place, winning the Grand Prix award. 

Below is a full list of winners from the Festival de Cannes 2013.

Well, the party might be wrapping up on the Riviera, however on Rialto Channel the celebration continues with some stellar films screening this week. Here are a few of my highlights.

Starring: Cécile De France, Thomas Doret
Directed by: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
Screening: Tuesday 28th May, 8.30pm

Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne are in fine form with a heart-wrenching and powerful drama about an eleven year old boy Cyril (Doret), who is determined to find his father who has abandoned him at a children’s home and disappeared. The Kid With A Bike was nominated for Best Foreign Language film at the Golden Globes and it won the Grand Prix award at the Festival de Cannes in 2011, an award it shared with joint Grand Prix winner, Once Upon A Time in Anatolia. It’s as charming as it is heartbreaking; another brilliantly crafted story by the Dardenne Brothers.

Starring: Mohammet Uzuner, Yilmaz Erdogan, Tanr Birsel, Ahmet Mumtaz
Directed by: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Screening: Wednesday 29th May, 8.30pm

Once Upon A Time in Anatolia tells the story of a group of men who set out one night in search of a dead body on the Anatolian steppes. The story was written by the film’s director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, his wife Ebru Ceylan and Ercan Kesal and is based on Kesal’s real life experiences working as a doctor in the small town where the film is set. It’s a slow burning drama, rich in character and atmosphere, and it’s clear why it received the Festival de Cannes’ second most prestigious award, the Grand Prix, in a shared win with The Kid with a Bike. It was also selected as Turkey's official submission for the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.

Starring: Raymond Depardon
Directed by: Claudine Nougaret
Screening: Thursday 30th May, 8.30pm

Raymond Depardon is a French photographer, photojournalist and documentary filmmaker. In 1966 he co-founded the Gamma photojournalism agency, and in 1978 he joined the Magnum agency reporting news from around the world, as well as at home. In this documentary ‘Journal de France’, narrated by his partner and sound engineer Claudine Nougaret, we are able to look back at the life he captured on camera, as well as following him on his recent mission traveling his homeland in a camper van, capturing images of a disappearing France. The images you’ll see here are quite remarkable; this really is a journal of life in France.

Here’s a complete list of winners from the Festival de Cannes 2013

IN COMPETITION

PALME D’OR - Blue is the Warmest Color by Abdellatif Kechiche

GRAND PRIX - Inside Llewyn Davis by Joel and Ethan Coen  

BEST DIRECTOR - Amat Escalante for Heli  

JURY PRIZE - Like Father, Like Son by Hirokazu Kore-eda  

BEST ACTOR - Bruce Dern for Nebraska  

BEST ACTRESS - Bérénice Bejo for The Past  

BEST SCREENPLAY - Jia Zhangke for A Touch of Sin  

PALME D’OR (SHORT FILM) - Safe by Moon Byoung-gon  

CAMERA D’OR (BEST DEBUT FEATURE) - Ilo Ilo by Anthony Chen  

PRIX UN CERTAIN REGARD - The Missing Picture by Rithy Panh  

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE - Omar by Hany Abu-Assad

BEST DIRECTOR - Alain Guiraudie, Stranger by the Lake  

TALENT AWARD - Ensemble cast of La Jaula de Oro

AVENIR FUTURE AWARD (PRIZE OF THE FUTURE) - Fruitvale Station by Ryan Coogler  

COMPETITION - Blue is the Warmest Colour by Abdellatif Kechiche  

UN CERTAIN REGARD - Manuscripts Don’t Burn by Mohammad Rasoulof 

DIRECTORS’ FORTNIGHT OR CRITICS’ WEEK - Blue Ruin by Jeremie Saulnier  

ECUMENICAL JURY PRIZE - The Past by Asghar Farhadi  

HONORABLE MENTIONS - Like Father, Like Son by Hirokazu Kore-eda and Miele by Valeria Golino

DIRECTORS’ FORTNIGHT (QUINZAINE REALISATEURS)

ART CINEMA AWARD - Me, Myelf and Mum by Guillaume Gallienne  

SACD AWARD (BEST FRENCH FILM) - Me, Myelf and Mum by Guillaume Gallienne

SACD SPECIAL MENTION - Tip Top by Serge Bozon

EUROPEAN CINEMAS LABEL AWARD (BEST EUROPEAN FILM) - The Selfish Giant by Cio Barnard

PRIX ILLY DU COURT METRAGE (BEST SHORT FILM) - A Wild Goose Chase by João Nicolau

PRIX ILLY DU COURT METRAGE HONORABLE MENTION - About a Month by André Novais Oliveira  

GRAND PRIZE - Salvo by Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza

SPECIAL MENTION - Los Duenos by Agustin Toscano and Ezequiel Radusky

VISIONARY AWARD - Salvo by Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza

BEST SCREENPLAY - Le Demantlement by Sebastien Pilote

Stranger by the Lake by Alain Guiraudi