1981 Cannes Film Festival

The 34th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 27 May 1981. The Palme d'Or went to the Człowiek z żelaza by Andrzej Wajda. The festival opened with Three Brothers (Tre fratelli) by Francesco Rosi and closed with Honeysuckle Rose, directed by Jerry Schatzberg.

Jury
The following people were appointed as the Jury of the 1981 feature film competition:

Feature films
 * Jacques Deray (France) - Jury President
 * Ellen Burstyn (USA)
 * Jean-Claude Carrière (France)
 * Robert Chazal (France)
 * Attilio d'Onofrio (Italy)
 * Christian Defaye (journalist) (Switzerland)
 * Carlos Diegues (Brazil)
 * Antonio Gala (Spain)
 * Andrey Petrov (Soviet Union)
 * Douglas Slocombe (UK)

In competition - Feature film
The following feature films competed for the Palme d'Or:


 * Angels of Iron by Thomas Brasch
 * Beau-père by Bertrand Blier
 * Chariots of Fire by Hugh Hudson
 * Cserepek by István Gaál
 * Excalibur by John Boorman
 * Faktas by Almantas Grikevičius
 * Flame Top by Pirjo Honkasalo, Pekka Lehto
 * Heaven's Gate by Michael Cimino
 * Light Years Away by Alain Tanner
 * Looks and Smiles by Ken Loach
 * Man of Iron by Andrzej Wajda
 * Mephisto by István Szabó
 * Montenegro by Dušan Makavejev
 * National Heritage by Luis García Berlanga
 * Neige by Juliet Berto
 * Passion of Love by Ettore Scola
 * Possession by Andrzej Żuławski
 * Quartet by James Ivory
 * The Skin by Liliana Cavani
 * Thief by Michael Mann
 * Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man by Bernardo Bertolucci
 * Les Uns et les Autres by Claude Lelouch

Un Certain Regard
The following films were selected for the competition of Un Certain Regard:


 * ...And God Created Them by Jacobo Morales
 * Arising from the Surface by Mani Kaul
 * The Big Night Bathe by Binka Zhelyazkova
 * Cerromaior by Luís Filipe Rocha
 * Eijanaika by Shohei Imamura
 * I Love You by Arnaldo Jabor
 * Let There Be Light by John Huston
 * Memoirs of a Survivor by David Gladwell
 * Un moment de bonheur by Yves Laumet
 * Mur Murs by Agnès Varda
 * A Thousand Little Kisses by Mira Recanati
 * The Witness by Péter Bacsó
 * Who's That Singing Over There by Slobodan Šijan
 * You Love Only Once by Rajko Grlić

Films out of competition
The following films were selected to be screened out of competition:


 * Anima – Symphonie phantastique by Titus Leber
 * Blood Wedding by Carlos Saura
 * From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China by Murray Lerner
 * Hands Up! by Jerzy Skolimowski
 * Havoc in Heaven by Wan Laiming
 * Honeysuckle Rose by Jerry Schatzberg
 * La Mouche by Ferenc Rofusz
 * The Postman Always Rings Twice by Bob Rafelson
 * Street Angel by Mu-jih Yuan
 * This Is Elvis by Malcolm Leo, Andrew Solt
 * Three Brothers by Francesco Rosi
 * Troubled Laughter by Yimin Deng, Yanjin Yang

Short film competition
The following short films competed for the Short Film Palme d'Or:


 * Alephah by Gérald Frydman
 * André Derain, thèmes et variations by François Porcile
 * Dilemma by John Halas
 * Diskzokej by Jiří Barta
 * Král a skritek by Lubomír Beneš
 * Manövergäste by G. Nicolas Hayek
 * Maskirani razbojnik by Petar Lalovic
 * Moto Perpetuo by Béla Vajda
 * Ne me parlez plus jamais d'amour by Sylvain Madigan
 * Le Rat by Elisabeth Huppert
 * Ravnovesie by Boiko Kanev
 * Trcanje by Dusko Sevo
 * Zea by André Leduc

International Critics' Week
The following feature films were screened for the 20th International Critics' Week (20e Semaine de la Critique):


 * She Dances Alone by Robert Dornhelm
 * The Moth by Tomasz Zygadlo
 * Fil, fond, fosfor by Philippe Nahoun
 * Kill Hitler by Villi Hermann, Niklaus Meienberg, Hans Stürm
 * Malou (1981 film) by Jeanine Meerapfel
 * Fertile Memory by Michel Khleifi
 * Le Chapeau malheureux by Maria Sos

Directors' Fortnight
The following films were screened for the 1981 Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalizateurs):


 * Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyoon Aata Hai by Saeed Akhtar Mirza
 * Alligator Shoes by Clay Borris
 * Americana by David Carradine
 * Act of Violence by Eduardo Escorel
 * Beddegama by Lester James Peries
 * Bolivar, Sinfonia Tropical by Diego Rísquez
 * Bona by Lino Brocka
 * Chakra, Vicious Circle by Rabindra Dharmaraj
 * Conversa Acabada by João Botelho
 * Desperado City by Vadim Glowna
 * No Mercy, No Future by Helma Sanders-Brahms
 * Francisca by Manoel De Oliveira
 * The Vulture by Yaky Yosha
 * The Mark of the Beast by Pieter Verhoeff
 * In Defense of People by Rafigh Pooya
 * Fruits of Passion by Shuji Terayama
 * The Plouffe Family by Gilles Carle
 * Memorias Do Medo by Alberto Graça
 * Narcissus and Psyche by Gábor Bódy
 * Seuls by Francis Reusser
 * Tell Me A Riddle by Lee Grant
 * Wizja lokalna 1901 by Filip Bajon


 * Short films


 * Evolution by Sheila Graber
 * Face To Face by Sheila Graber
 * Le Miroir Vivant by Eunice Hutchins, Norbert Barnich
 * Michelangelo by Sheila Graber
 * Music For Film by Jean-Claude Wouters
 * Pour Trois Minutes De Gloire by Jean-Claude Bronckart
 * T.V.O. by Carlos Castillo
 * The Electric Disco Chicken by Bob Goodness
 * Tous Les Garcons by Yves Laberge
 * Tre Per Eccesso by Giampierro Vinciguerra
 * Uno Para Todos, Todos Para Todos by Carlos Castillo

Official awards
The following films and people received the 1981 awards: Golden Camera Short films
 * Palme d'Or: Człowiek z żelaza by Andrzej Wajda
 * Grand Prix: Les Années lumière by Alain Tanner
 * Best Screenplay: István Szabó for Mephisto
 * Best Actress: Isabelle Adjani for Quartet and Possession
 * Best Actor: Ugo Tognazzi for La tragedia di un uomo ridicolo
 * Best Supporting Actress: Yelena Solovey for Faktas
 * Best Supporting Actor: Ian Holm for Chariots of Fire
 * Best Artistic Contribution: Excalibur by John Boorman
 * Caméra d'Or: Desperado City by Vadim Glowna
 * Short Film Palme d'Or: Moto Perpetuo by Béla Vajda
 * Jury Prize: Le Rat by Elisabeth Huppert & Zea by André Leduc

Independent awards
FIPRESCI Prizes Commission Supérieure Technique Ecumenical Jury Young Cinema Award
 * Malou (1981 film) by Jeanine Meerapfel (International Critics' Week)
 * Mephisto by István Szabó (In competition)
 * Technical Grand Prize: Les Uns et les Autres for the sound quality
 * Prize of the Ecumenical Jury: Man of Iron (Człowiek z żelaza) by Andrzej Wajda
 * Ecumenical Jury - Special Mention: Chariots of Fire by Hugh Hudson & Looks and Smiles by Ken Loach
 * Looks and Smiles by Ken Loach
 * Neige by Juliet Berto and Jean-Henri Roger

Media

 * INA: The parallel festival, Cannes 1981 (commentary in French)
 * INA: Threat of suicide Italian-style for Ugo Tognazzi (in French)