23/05/2010

Extracts from this evening’s press conference with the prize-winning directors and actors at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival.

Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Palme d'Or): "For me, cinema is a personal quest. I tried to present a different type of cinema, which pushes boundaries and challenges the audience and I hope it will be an inspiration, particularly for young people. Cinema can work towards a better understanding of different cultures."

Xavier Beauvois (Grand Prize): "I’m a big fan of Tim Burton and I trusted the other members of the jury whose films I like."

Mathieu Amalric (Best Director): "I feel like the Tour continues. The film will be shown in theatres and I hope that the desire to see these girls, whose energy I stole, will be infectious. The beautiful thing is that the film was the first to be screened at the festival and it was still in people’s memories 12 days later."

Juliette Binoche (Best Actress): "Abbas Kiarostami’s camera is generous and that’s a rare thing. When I met him, I didn’t know what would come of it, but I knew something was possible. As for Jafar Panahi, it’s unbearable knowing that an artist or intellectual is imprisoned and we all want him to be released."

Javier Bardem (Best Actor): "It’s a big honour and also a surprise. When you play a character, you’re not necessarily sure of yourself. But I’m also delighted to share this prize with Elio Germano."

Elio Germano (Best Actor): "I’m very moved, happy on a personal level obviously, but also for the film, a film in which the camera spied on us, where we never knew what was going to happen. I dedicate this award to Italy and the Italians for they are the ones who will improve the country despite our ruling classes."

Mahamat-Saleh Haroun (Jury Prize): "I take this prize as an invitation to belong to the family of cinema, an invitation to join in the dance for my country and a continent that has long been invisible."

Tim Burton (jury president): "No decisions are easy to make. We all had favourites that haven’t won awards. But I’ve seen ways of making films that I’d never seen before. As for the shared Best Actor award, it was impossible to decide between two remarkable actors, two very different performances on a very strong theme, the family, which has been the unifying thread of the Festival."

(Translated from French)