CANNES - "Anora," a darkly funny and touching drama about a young dancer who becomes involved with a Russian oligarch's son, won the Cannes Film Festival's top prize, the Palme d'Or, on Saturday.
The film by U.S. director Sean Baker beat the 21 other films in the competition line-up, including entries by established directors like Francis Ford Coppola and David Cronenberg.
"Anora" continues a streak of films by Baker, including the 2021 Cannes entry "Red Rocket" and 2017's "The Florida Project" starring Willem Dafoe.
"This has been my life's goal, so to reach this place is... I'm going to have to do some thinking tonight about what's next," Baker told Reuters after the ceremony.
Jury president Greta Gerwig, the director behind the pink-hued hit "Barbie," called "Anora" an "incredibly human and humane film that captured our hearts" when announcing the award that was handed out by George Lucas, of "Star Wars" fame.
Lucas was on stage to receive an honorary award during the festival's closing ceremony from his longtime friend Coppola, whose passion project "Megalopolis" was also in competition.
"I'm just a kid who grew up in the middle of California, surrounded by vineyards, and made films in San Francisco with my friend Francis Coppola," said Lucas at the ceremony.
The Grand Prix, the second-highest prize after the Palme d'Or, was awarded to "All We Imagine As Light," marking the first time an Indian director had won the prize.
Director Payal Kapadia's debut feature about the friendship between three women was the first Indian film in competition in 30 years.
"The fact that we could be here is a testament that if you stick to one thing and don't give up hope, then the film could possibly be made, and we are here," she said.
Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof, who was in Cannes about two weeks after announcing he had gone into exile, was given a special award for "The Seed of the Sacred Fig," about an Iranian court official who grows increasingly controlling and paranoid as protests begin to swell in 2022.
&uuid=(email))