Thursday, October 9, 2025

French film wins top prize at Cannes

French film wins top prize at CannesBlue is the Warmest Colour, an intimate love story about two young French women, has won the Palme d’Or for best film at the Cannes
Film Festival, reports BBC online.
It has attracted attention for its explicit sex scenes as well as the acclaimed performances of actresses Adele
Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux.Hollywood veteran Bruce Dern won best actor for his performance in Nebraska. And French star Berenice Bejo, known for silent film The Artist, won best actress for her role in The Past.
The winners were picked from the 20 films in competition and were named at the festival’s closing ceremony on Sunday.
Blue is the Warmest Colour is a three-hour coming-of-age movie in which Exarchopoulos plays a 15-year-old who falls in love with an older woman, played by Seydoux.
Directed by Abdellatif Kechiche, it won rave reviews in Cannes, being described as ‘epic yet intimate’ by The Guardian. But it also shocked some critics. Variety magazine said it contained ‘the most explosively graphic lesbian sex scenes in recent memory’.
The Hollywood Reporter said the ‘sprawling drama’ would ‘raise eyebrows’ as it crossed the barrier ‘between performance and the real deal’.
Some had questioned whether the sex scenes may make it too explicit for the top prize. But director Steven Spielberg, who chaired the jury, told reporters: ‘I think it will get a lot of play… I think this film carries a very strong message, a very positive message.’
In an unusual move, Spielberg awarded the prize to the two lead actresses as well as the director.
Accepting the prize, Abdellatif Kechiche said: ‘I should like to dedicate this film to the wonderful youth of France whom I met during the long period while making this film. Those young people taught me a lot about the spirit of freedom and living together.’
Blue is the Warmest Colour prevented US film-makers the Coen brothers from repeating their Palme d’Or success of 1991, when they won for Barton Fink.
Their latest film Inside Llewyn Davis, about the 1960s New York folk scene, won this year’s Grand Prix, effectively the runners-up prize.
The best actor award marks a return to the critical bosom for Bruce Dern, who is best known for roles in 1970s films including Coming Home, The Cowboys and The Great Gatsby.
Now 76, he has won for playing an ageing, alcoholic father on a road trip to collect a lottery prize. The film, titled Nebraska, was directed by Sideways and The Descendants film-maker Alexander Payne.
Berenice Bejo’s best actress prize has proved that her performance in The Artist was not a one-off. Her film The Past is a family drama made by Iranian director Asghar Farhadi as the follow-up to his Oscar-nominated 2011 drama A Separation.
Mexico’s Amat Escalante, who made brutal drama Heli about the country’s drugs war, was something of a surprise choice for best director.
The Jury Prize went to Like Father, Like Son, about two families who discover that their six-year-old boys were switched at birth, directed by Japan’s Hirokazu Kore-eda.
Films that missed out included Behind the Candelabra, in which Michael Douglas plays the legendarily flamboyant entertainer Liberace, and Italian director Paolo Sorrentino’s The Great Beauty, a sumptuous story about an ageing novelist.
Spielberg was joined on the jury by Life of Pi director Ang Lee, actress Nicole Kidman and Oscar-winner Christoph Waltz.
The other judges were We Need To Talk About Kevin film-maker Lynne Ramsay, French actor Daniel Auteuil, Romanian director Cristian Mungiu, Japanese director Naomi Kawase and Bollywood star Vidya Balan.
Following is a list of winners at the 66th Cannes festival:
–    Palme d’Or (Best Film) – ‘La Vie d’Adele – Chapitre 1 & 2’ (Blue is the Warmest Colour) by Abdellatif Kechiche (France)
–    Grand Prix (Runner-up) – ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’
by Ethan and Joel Coen (U.S.)
–    Jury Prize (Third Prize) – ‘Soshite Chichi Ni Naru’
(Like Father, Like Son) by Kore-Eda Hirokazu (Japan)
–    Camera d’Or (Debut Film) – ‘Ilo Ilo’ by Anthony Chen
(Singapore)
–    Best Director – ‘Heli’ by Amat Escalante (Mexico)
–    Best Screenplay – ‘Tian Zhu Ding’ (A Touch of Sin)
by Jia Zhangke (China)
–    Best Actress – Berenice Bejo in ‘Le Passe’ (The Past) (France)
–    Best Actor – Bruce Dern in ‘Nebraska’ (U.S.)
–    Short Film – ‘Safe’ by Moon Byoung-Gon (South Korea)
(Reporting by Belinda Goldsmith; editing by Andrew Roche)

-With New Age input

Related News

Celebrate garo heritage at Dhaka Wangala festival

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com The 19th Dhaka Wangala Festival is set to take place on October 24, 2025, at Banani Bidya Niketon. This event will be a vibrant celebration of the rich cultural heritage of the Garo (Mandi) community, says a Press release. Wangala, often referred to as the harvest festival of the Garos, remains ... Read more

Autumn Festival 1432 focuses on rejuvenating nature

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com The Six Seasons Celebration National Council held a programme titled Autumn Festival 1432 on the Bakultala premise at Dhaka University on Friday. With an appeal to revive and conserve the nature, the programme featured the cultural significance of the Bangla season. Presided over by the council’s convener Ehsan Mahmud, poets, litterateurs ... Read more

Samageet takes stage at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com Cultural organisation Samageet Sangskriti Prangan performed at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok of Thailand on September 24 and 25 as part of its ‘Solidarity and Resistance Tour 2025’, said a press release. Led by singer Amal Akash, six members of Samageet participated at the event marking 30 years of Focus on the ... Read more

End of 42-year old landmark, Monihar Cinema Hall set to shut down

Entertainment Desk : dhakamirror.com Monihar Cinema Hall in Jashore, has long been celebrated as the largest single-screen theater in the country. Once it was a beloved spot for film enthusiasts from Japan, Korea, Africa, Australia, Russia, and England. Sadly, after 42 years of operation, it’s preparing to shut down. Ziaul Islam Mithu, the owner, has ... Read more

Amar Ekushey Book Fair to begin Dec 17

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com The forthcoming ‘Amar Ekushey Book Fair’, Bangladesh’s largest month-long book fair, will be held from December 17, 2025 to January 17, 2026 due to the forthcoming national elections and Ramadan, said a press release on Thursday. The press release, issued by Bangla Academy director general Mohammad Azam, said that the decision ... Read more

Art competition held marking Ozone Day

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com The Department for Environment held a children’s art competition on 12 September in Agargaon, Dhaka, for World Ozone Day 2025. This year’s theme, “From science to global action,” was translated into Bengali as “Biggyansommoto kormo, ozone rokkhay bormo,” which means actions guided by science, commitment to ozone protection. The theme inspired ... Read more

Exhibition depicts July-August mass uprising

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com A seven-day group exhibition featuring nine photographers is underway at Mirpur in the capital. Organised by Visual Arts Centre Counter Foto, the event depicts the July-August student-led mass uprising. The event was started on December 16 on the Counter Foto campus at Mirpur. Curated by artist-researcher Faysal Zaman, the exhibition titled ... Read more

DU theatre festival taking place at TSC

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com The 18th annual central theatre festival organised by the Department of Theatre and Performance Studies of Dhaka University is under way at its TSC auditorium. The 11-day festival, directed by final-year students, was inaugurated on December 3 with the staging of Badal Sircar’s play Suitcase directed by Tumpa Rani Das. A ... Read more

Exhibition highlights complicated significance of Buriganga river

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com A six-day group print exhibition depicting the complicated significance of the Buriganga River is under way at Alliance Française de Dhaka. Organised by the Dhaka University printmaking department, the exhibition titled Downward’s Surface is displaying more than a hundred artworks created by 23 fourth-year bachelor’s and master’s students of the department. ... Read more

Humayun Ahmed’s 76th birth anniversary today

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com Today is the 76th anniversary of the birth of the renowned author, dramatist, screenwriter, and director Humayun Ahmed. Humayun Ahmed is considered one of the top writers in Bengali literature, after Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam. He played a key role in revitalizing Bengali literature and created memorable characters like ... Read more

Week-long annual art exhibition begins at DU

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com A seven-day annual art exhibition featuring artworks by students of the sculpture department of Dhaka University began at Zainul Gallery of the university on Monday. Organised by the sculpture department of the faculty of fine art, the exhibition features 64 artworks created by students of 2022 and 2023 academic years. The ... Read more

BSA organises cultural event with theme ‘Awaaz Uda’ to commemorate July-August mass uprising

Entertainment Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy will host a cultural event to commemorate July-August mass uprising this Friday, November 8. The event’s theme has been decided upon as ‘Awaaz Uda’. Rapper Hannan, the band F Minor and numerous other artists will be performing at the event. The event, organised by the Music, Dance, and ... Read more

Jatra Utsab kicks off at Suhrawardy Udyan

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com A seven-day Jatra Utsab, organised by Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, began on Friday on the the Mukta Mancha stage of the Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka. The academy aimed to revive cultural practices at all social layers after the student-led July mass-uprising. The festival features seven historical and social story-based Jatra, the popular ... Read more

Kalim Sharafi’s death anniv today

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com Today is the 14th anniversary of the death of Independence Award-winning cultural activist-Tagore exponent Kalim Sharafi. Born on May 8, 1924 in Birbhum of West Bengal, British India to Syed Sami Ahmed and Begum Aliya, Kalim Sharafi developed a passion for music at an early age. He recorded 18 albums, 15 ... Read more

Scholastica students stage Walt Disney’s ‘Tangled’ at Uttara campus

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com The students of Drama, Music and Dance clubs of Scholastica senior campus in Uttara staged the Walt Disney’s musical adventure comedy play titled Tangled at the STM Hall of the campus on Thursday and Friday. François Grosjean, director of Alliance Francaise de Dhaka, attended the shows as chief guest and enlightened ... Read more

Artist Samarjit Roy Chowdhury’s 2nd death anniv today

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com oday is the second anniversary of the death of artist Samarjit Roy Chowdhury. Born in 1937 in Cumilla, Samarjit Roy graduated in graphic design from the then Government Art Institute, now the faculty of fine art, Dhaka University, in 1960. He joined the Dhaka University and worked for 43 years, and ... Read more

BSA to reopen National Theatre Hall on Friday

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy is scheduled to reopen the National Theatre Hall and its two rehearsal rooms on Friday, said a press release on Monday. The theatre troupe can stage one show in one shift, and they have to give the member lists of troupes involved with productions at the BSA office. ... Read more

Nazrul’s grandson Kazi Anirban passes away

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com Kazi Anirban, the grandson of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, passed away on Wednesday (October 3) in Switzerland due to a heart attack. He was the eldest son of Kazi Aniruddha, the rebel poet’s youngest child. Nazrul Sangeet artiste Khilkhil Kazi, daughter of Nazrul’s eldest son Kazi Sabyasachi, confirmed the news ... Read more

Nazrul’s 125th birth anniversary today

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com Today is the 125th birth anniversary of national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam. The birth anniversary of Nazrul, widely known as the rebel poet, is observed in Bangladesh on Jyaishtha 11, according to the Bangla calendar. Nazrul, a poet, lyricist, composer, playwright, novelist, revolutionary and journalist, sang equally for freedom and love. ... Read more

Mrinal Sen’s birth anniversary today

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com Today is the 101st anniversary of the birth of the legendary Bengali filmmaker Mrinal Sen. Born on May 14, 1923 in Faridpur, Mrinal Sen moved to Kolkata to study and became involved in left-wing politics, cultural activities, and film production. One of the most politically active filmmakers, he, after having studied ... Read more