24/05/2009

Extracts from this evening’s press conference with the prize winners at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival.

Michael Haneke (Palme d'Or): "The Palme d’Or is the highest honour you can win in international cinema, so I’m obviously very happy. There were rumours of a win, but there had been for Hidden [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Margaret Menegoz
interview: Michael Haneke
film profile] too, so I don’t take them seriously any more. You always feel a bit tense when you’re called back for the ceremony, but let’s be clear: in a competition, you don’t always win. As for my film, I’m rather pleased with it: as a director, you only see the flaws, whilst hoping that others won’t notice them."

Jacques Audiard (Grand Prize): "I am delighted with this award. Films are a way of looking at the world and I wanted to create new icons. People haven’t stopped asking me if I’m perhaps disappointed at not winning the Palme d’Or and about the true value of the prize I’ve received. I’m very surprised. What’s all the fuss about? Isn’t my award good enough?"

Charlotte Gainsbourg (Best Actress): "Film has no borders and I want to work with directors who interest me, whatever their nationality. I’m very proud to have collaborated with Lars von Trier, whose work I admire. I know that opinions on the film are divided, but for my part, I think Lars von Trier is a great artist."

Christoph Waltz (Best Actor): "I think the role Quentin Tarantino cast me in is on a par with the great characters of dramatic literature. The film also gave me a new lease on life after a 30-year-long career."

Andrea Arnold (Jury Prize): "The decision to make a film comes from the heart, with the desire to show something authentic. You don’t do it for the viewers, who are merely guests free to make their own judgements. I like independent auteurs, who don’t care whether people like their work or not."

Isabelle Huppert (jury president): "Michael Haneke truly delves into the human soul and successfully presents a philosophical film in an ethical style. He maintains the right distance from his subject. He says important things, but without conveying a message; he simply shows things in a subtle way."

(Translated from French)