Cannes 2018: Special Palme d'Or for Swiss film IMAGE BOOK by Jean-Luc Godard
The Swiss-French director Jean-Luc Godard was honoured with the Special Palme d'Or at the Festival de Cannes for IMAGE BOOK. This Award was handed out for the first time in history in Cannes. HAPPY AS LAZZARO by Alice Rohrwacher was awarded for Best Screenplay.
19.05.2018
A special award presented at the Festival de Cannes goes to Switzerland. The Swiss-French coproduction IMAGE BOOK, produced by Fabrice Aragno (Casa Azul Films, Geneva) was honoured with the Special Palme d'Or, a first in the history of Cannes. Godard’s most recent essay film is a polymorphic, experimental film collage comprised of earlier footage, fragments of current news programmes, texts and photos.
Jean-Luc Godard made film history with such films as BREATHLESS in 1959. The 87-year-old doyen of the “New Wave” lives in Rolle on Lake Geneva. Godard is a habitué in Cannes. Many of his films premiered at the film festival, the last time in 2014 with ADIEU AU LANGAGE in competition. The French production was honoured with the Jury Prize.
Now with IMAGE BOOK, a Swiss film has won a Palme d'Or at the Festival de Cannes for the first time again since L’INVITATION (1973, Claude Goretta) and LES ANNÉES DE LUMIÈRE (1981, Alain Tanner).
Best Screenplay: HAPPY AS LAZZARO by Alice Rohrwacher
The Italian-French-Swiss-German coproduction HAPPY AS LAZZARO by Alice Rohrwacher, coproduced by Tiziana Soudani’s production company, Amka Films Productions, was awarded ex-æquo for Best Screenplay in Cannes together with SE ROKH by Nader Saeivar.
Rohrwacher‘s debut film CORPO CELESTE (2011) premiered in Cannes in the Directors’ Fortnight; her second film THE WONDERS (2014) was also screened in competition in Cannes and honoured with the Grand Prix. Both films were also coproduced by Amka Films Productions.
SWISS FILMS, 15.09.2018