1997 Cannes Film Festival
The 50th Cannes Film Festival was held from 7 to 18 May 1997. The Palme d'Or was jointly awarded to Ta'm e guilass by Abbas Kiarostami and Unagi by Shohei Imamura. Jeanne Moreau was the mistress of ceremonies.
The festival opened with The Fifth Element, directed by Luc Besson, and closed with Absolute Power, directed by Clint Eastwood.
poster, adapted from an original illustration by Milo Manara.
Juries
Main competition
The following people were appointed as the Jury for the feature films of the 1997 Official Selection:- Isabelle Adjani Jury President
- Gong Li
- Mira Sorvino
- Paul Auster
- Tim Burton
- Luc Bondy
- Patrick Dupond
- Mike Leigh
- Nanni Moretti
- Michael Ondaatje
Caméra d'Or
- Françoise Arnoul
- Gérard Lenne
- Jiří Menzel
- Julien Camy
- Luciano Barisone
- Nicolas Philibert
- Olivier Brunet-Lefebvre
- Ulrich Gregor
Official selection
In competition - Feature film
The following feature films competed for the Palme d'Or:- Assassin by Mathieu Kassovitz
- The Banned Woman by Philippe Harel
- The Brave by Johnny Depp
- The Eel by Shohei Imamura
- The End of Violence by Wim Wenders
- Funny Games by Michael Haneke
- Happy Together by Wong Kar-wai
- The Ice Storm by Ang Lee
- Kini and Adams by Idrissa Ouedraogo
- L.A. Confidential by Curtis Hanson
- Nil by Mouth by Gary Oldman
- The Prince of Homburg by Marco Bellocchio
- The Serpent's Kiss by Philippe Rousselot
- She's So Lovely by Nick Cassavetes
- The Sweet Hereafter by Atom Egoyan
- Taste of Cherry by Abbas Kiarostami
- The Truce by Francesco Rosi
- Welcome to Sarajevo by Michael Winterbottom
- The Well by Samantha Lang
- Western by Manuel Poirier
Un Certain Regard
- 12 Storeys by Eric Khoo
- A, B, C... Manhattan by Amir Naderi
- After Sex by Brigitte Roüan
- Akrebin Yolculuğu by Ömer Kavur
- American Perfekt by Paul Chart
- Brother by Aleksei Balabanov
- La Buena Estrella by Ricardo Franco
- La cruz by Alejandro Agresti
- East Palace, West Palace by Zhang Yuan
- Gudia by Gautam Ghose
- Histoire du cinéma by Jean-Luc Godard
- The House by Šarūnas Bartas
- In the Company of Men by Neil LaBute
- Inside/Out by Rob Tregenza
- Love and Death on Long Island by Richard Kwietniowski
- by Anna Maria Tatò
- Marius and Jeannette by Robert Guédiguian
- Mrs Brown by John Madden
- Private Confessions by Liv Ullmann
- Sunday by Jonathan Nossiter
- Wind Echoing in My Being by Jeon Soo-il
- The Witman Boys by János Szász
Films out of competition
- Absolute Power by Clint Eastwood
- The Blackout by Abel Ferrara
- Destiny by Youssef Chahine
- The Fifth Element by Luc Besson
- Hamlet by Kenneth Branagh
- Michael Jackson's Ghosts by Stan Winston
- Nirvana by Gabriele Salvatores
- Voyage to the Beginning of the World by Manoel de Oliveira
- Welcome to Woop Woop by Stephan Elliott
Short film competition
- Le Bon Endroit by Ayelet Bargur
- Camera obscura by Stefano Arduino
- Final Cut by Justin Case
- ...Is It the Design on the Wrapper? by Tessa Sheridan
- Joe by Sasha Wolf
- Leonie by Lieven Debrauwer
- Over The Rainbow by Alexandre Aja
- Les Vacances by Emmanuelle Bercot
Parallel sections
International Critics' Week
The following films were screened for the 36th International Critics' Week :Feature film competition
- Junk Mail by Pål Sletaune
- Mother of the Dunes by Abdoulaye Ascofaré
- This World, Then the Fireworks by Michael Oblowitz
- Le Mani forti by Franco Bernini
- Character by Mike van Diem
- Bent by Sean Mathias
- Insomnia by Erik Skjoldbjærg
- The Signalman by Benoît Mariage
- Marylou by Todd Kurtzman & Danny Shorago
- Adios Mama by Ariel Gordon
- Tunnel of Love by Robert Milton Wallace
- Muerto de amor by Ramón Barea
- O Prego by João Maia
- Le Voleur de diagonale by Jean Darrigol
Directors' Fortnight
- Buud-Yam by Gaston Kaboré
- Cosmos by André Turpin, Arto Paragamian, Denis Villeneuve, Jennifer Alleyn, Manon Briand, Marie-Julie Dallaire
- Dakan by Mohamed Camara
- Hamam by Ferzan Ozpetek
- I Hate Love by Laurence Ferreira Barbosa
- Kicked In The Head by Matthew Harrison
- Kissed by Lynne Stopkewich
- L'autre côté de la mer by Dominique Cabrera
- The Good Life by David Trueba
- La Vie de Jésus by Bruno Dumont
- Ma 6-T va crack-er by Jean-François Richet
- Ma vie en rose by Alain Berliner
- Murmur of Youth by Lin Cheng-sheng
- The Perfect Circle by Ademir Kenović
- The Power of the Skirt by Adama Drabo
- A Friend of the Deceased by Viacheslav Kryshtofovych
- Sinon, oui by Claire Simon
- My Son the Fanatic by Udayan Prasad
- Suzaku by Naomi Kawase
- Train of Shadows by José Luis Guerin
- Un frère… by Sylvie Verheyde
- Liberté chérie by Jean-Luc Gaget
- Soyons amis ! by Thomas Bardinet
- Taxi de nuit by Marco Castilla
- Tout doit disparaître by Jean-Marc Moutout
- Y’a du foutage dans l’air by Djamel Bensalah
Awards
Official awards
The following films and people received the 1997 Official selection awards:- Palme d'Or:
- * Taste of Cherry by Abbas Kiarostami
- * The Eel by Shōhei Imamura
- Grand Prize of the Jury: The Sweet Hereafter by Atom Egoyan
- Best Director: Wong Kar-wai for Happy Together
- Best Screenplay: The Ice Storm by James Schamus
- Best Actress: Kathy Burke for Nil by Mouth
- Best Actor: Sean Penn for She's So Lovely
- Jury Prize: Western by Manuel Poirier
- 50th Anniversary Prize: Youssef Chahine
- Palm of the Palms: Ingmar Bergman
- Caméra d'Or: Moe no suzaku by Naomi Kawase
- Caméra d'Or - Special Mention: La Vie de Jésus by Bruno Dumont
- Short Film Palme d'Or: ...Is It the Design on the Wrapper? by Tessa Sheridan
- Jury Prize: Leonie by Lieven Debrauwer & Les Vacances by Emmanuelle Bercot
Independent awards
- The Sweet Hereafter by Atom Egoyan
- Voyage to the Beginning of the World by Manoel de Oliveira
- Technical Grand Prize: Thierry Arbogast in She's So Lovely and The Fifth Element
- Prize of the Ecumenical Jury: The Sweet Hereafter by Atom Egoyan
- Ecumenical Jury - Special Mention: La Buena Estrella by Ricardo Franco & Voyage to the Beginning of the World by Manoel de Oliveira
- Foreign Film: Bent by Sean Mathias
- French Film: I Hate Love by Laurence Ferreira Barbosa
- Mercedes-Benz Award: Junk Mail by Pål Sletaune
- Canal+ Award: The Signalman by Benoît Mariage
- François Chalais Award: The Perfect Circle by Ademir Kenović
Media