The 74th Cannes Film Festival will on Saturday award its top honor, the Palme d’Or, as selected by a jury headed by Spike Lee.
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Jury president Spike Lee, second from left, poses with jury members Maggie Gyllenhaal, from left, Melanie Laurent and Jessica Hausner at the premiere of the film ‘Annette’ and the opening ceremony of the 74th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, July 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
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Director Asghar Farhadi poses for photographers at the photo call for the film ‘A Hero’ at the 74th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, July 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
Cannes’ closing ceremony caps 12 days of red-carpet premieres, regular COVID-19 testing for many attendees and the first major film festival to be held since the pandemic began in almost its usual form. With smaller crowds and mandated mask-wearing in theaters, Cannes pushed forward with an ambitious slate of global cinema. Last year’s Cannes was completely canceled by the pandemic.
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Mathieu Giombini, from left, Hadje Fatime Ngoua, Rihane Khalil Alio, director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Achouackh Abakar Souleymane, Bria Gomdigue and producer Florence Stern pose for photographers at the photo call for the film ‘Lingui’ at the 74th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, July 9, 2021. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)
Twenty-four movies are in contention for the Palme. The jury’s deliberations are private and unknown, but that never stops a wide spectrum of predictions, guesses and betting odds. This year featured a strong slate of many top international filmmakers, but no movie was viewed as the clear favorite.
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Vincent Lindon, from left, director Julia Ducournau, Agathe Rousselle, Garance Marillier and Lais Salameh pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film ‘Titane’ at the 74th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, July 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
Among the best-received films at the festival were: Iranian director Asghar Farhadi’s portrait of honor and social media “A Hero”; Chadian filmmaker Mahamat-Saleh Haroun’s abortion drama “Lingui”; Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s meditative, Tilda Swinton-led “Memoria”; French director Julia Ducournau’s wild, high-octane serial-killer odyssey “Titane”; Sean Baker’s “The Florida Project” follow-up, “Red Rocket”; Japan’s Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Haruki Murakami adaptation, “Drive My Car”; and Russian director Kirill Serebennikov’s influenza tale “Petrov’s Flu.”
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Tilda Swinton poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film ‘Memoria’ at the 74th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Thursday, July 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
In 2019, the Palme went to Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite,” which later took best picture at the Academy Awards, too. Only one female filmmaker has ever won Cannes top award (Jane Campion for “The Piano”), so a win for Ducournau or Mia Hansen-Løve (“Berman Island”) would be history making. If Haroun were victorious, it would be the second time a film from Africa won.
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Elodie Frege poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film ‘Benedetta’ at the 74th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, July 9, 2021. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
Lee is the first Black jury president at Cannes. His fellow jury members are: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mélanie Laurent, Song Kang-ho, Tahar Rahim, Mati Diop, Jessica Hausner, Kleber Mendonça Filho and Mylène Farmer.
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Leonie Hanne poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film ‘Stillwater’ at the 74th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Thursday, July 8, 2021. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
___ Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
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Director Sean Baker, from left, Bree Elrod, Simon Rex, Brittney Rodriguez, and Chris Bergoch pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film ‘Red Rocket’ at the 74th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, July 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Video: Cannes jurors are mostly female, led by Spike Lee (Reuters)
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