1985 Cannes Film Festival

The 38th Cannes Film Festival was held from 8 to 20 May 1985. The Palme d'Or went to the When Father Was Away on Business by Emir Kusturica.

The festival opened with Witness, directed by Peter Weir and closed with The Emerald Forest, directed by John Boorman. The festival paid a tribute to American actor James Stewart and screened a restored version of his 1954 film The Glenn Miller Story, directed by Anthony Mann.

Main competition
The following people were appointed as the Jury of the 1985 feature film competition:
 * Miloš Forman (Czechoslovakia) - Jury President
 * Néstor Almendros (Spain)
 * Jorge Amado (Brazil)
 * Mauro Bolognini (Italy)
 * Claude Imbert (journalist) (France)
 * Sarah Miles (UK)
 * Michel Perez (France)
 * Mo Rothman (USA)
 * Francis Veber (France)
 * Edwin Zbonek (Austria)

Camera d'Or
The following people were appointed as the Jury of the 1985 Camera d'Or:
 * Bernard Jubard - Jury President
 * Lorenzo Codelli (journalist)
 * Peter Cowie (film historian)
 * Joël Magny (critic)
 * Bertrand Van Effenterre (director)
 * Jose Vieira Marques (cinephile)

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

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


 * A.K. by Chris Marker
 * Ad Sof Halaylah by Eitan Green
 * Dear, Dearest, Beloved, Unique... (Milyy, dorogoy, lyubimyy, edinstvennyy...) by Dinara Asanova
 * Il diavolo sulle colline by Vittorio Cottafavi
 * Empty Quarter: A Woman in Africa (Une femme en Afrique) by Raymond Depardon
 * Fire Festival (Himatsuri) by Mitsuo Yanagimachi
 * Heritage (Dediščina) by Matjaž Klopčič
 * Latino by Haskell Wexler
 * Das Mal des Todes by Peter Handke
 * Monsieur de Pourceaugnac by Michel Mitrani
 * The Mystery of Alexina (Le mystère Alexina) by René Féret
 * Oriana by Fina Torres
 * Padre nuestro by Francisco Regueiro
 * A Private Function by Malcolm Mowbray
 * Tea in the Harem (Le thé au harem d'Archimède) by Mehdi Charef
 * Tokyo-Ga by Wim Wenders

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


 * The Emerald Forest by John Boorman
 * The Glenn Miller Story by Anthony Mann
 * Jumping by Jean-Pierre De Decker
 * Die Nacht by Hans-Jürgen Syberberg
 * Night Magic by Lewis Furey
 * The Purple Rose of Cairo by Woody Allen
 * The Satin Slipper (Le soulier de Satin) by Manoel de Oliveira
 * Steaming by Joseph Losey
 * Witness by Peter Weir

Short film competition
The following short films competed for the Short Film Palme d'Or:
 * L'anniversaire de Georges by Patrick Traon
 * Mariage (Jenitba) by Slav Bakalov and Rumen Petkov
 * Stop by Krzysztof Kiwerski
 * Tusagi by Bondo Shoshitaishvili

International Critics' Week
The following feature films were screened for the 24th International Critics' Week (24e Semaine de la Critique):


 * Le Temps détruit by Pierre Beuchot (France)
 * Faces of Women (Visages de femmes) by Desiré Ecaré (Ivory Coast)
 * Kolp by Roland Suso Richter (West Germany)
 * Vertiges by Christine Laurent (France)
 * The Color of Blood by Bill Duke (United States)
 * Fucha by Michał Dudziewicz (Poland)
 * A Canary Cage by Pavel Chukhray (Soviet Union)
 * A Marvada Carne by André Klotzel (Brazil)

Directors' Fortnight
The following films were screened for the 1985 Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalizateurs):


 * A Flash of Green by Victor Nuñez
 * Crossover Dreams by Leon Ichaso
 * Da Capo by Pekka Lehto, Pirjo Honkasalo
 * Dance with a Stranger by Mike Newell
 * Desperately Seeking Susan by Susan Seidelman
 * Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart by Wayne Wang
 * Love on the Pyramids Plateau (Al Hob Fawk Habadet al Haram) by Atef El Tayeb
 * A Suspended Life (Ghazal el-Banat) by Jocelyne Saab
 * Blue Mountains by Eldar Shengelaia
 * Impiegati by Pupi Avati
 * The City and the Dogs (La ciudad y los perros) by Francisco J. Lombardi
 * La noche más hermosa by Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón
 * Les anges by Ridha Behi
 * Lieber Karl by Maria Knilli
 * Megfelelo Ember Kenyes Feladatra by János Kovácsi
 * O Erotas tou Odyssea by Vassilis Vafeas
 * The Funeral (Osōshiki) by Juzo Itami
 * The Innocent by John Mackenzie

Official awards
The following films and people received the 1985 Official selection awards: Golden Camera Short films
 * Palme d'Or: When Father Was Away on Business by Emir Kusturica
 * Grand Prix: Birdy by Alan Parker
 * Best Director: André Téchiné for Rendez-vous
 * Best Actress:
 * Norma Aleandro for The Official Story
 * Cher for Mask
 * Best Actor: William Hurt for Kiss of the Spider Woman
 * Best Artistic Contribution: Paul Schrader for Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
 * Jury Prize: Colonel Redl by István Szabó
 * Caméra d'Or: Oriana by Fina Torres
 * Short Film Palme d'Or: Mariage (Jenitba) by Slav Bakalov and Rumen Petkov

Independent awards
FIPRESCI Prizes Commission Supérieure Technique Ecumenical Jury Award of the Youth
 * When Father Was Away on Business (Otac na sluzbenom putu) by Emir Kusturica (In competition)
 * The Purple Rose of Cairo by Woody Allen (Out of competition)
 * Faces of Women (Visages de femmes) by Desiré Ecaré (International Critics' Week)
 * Technical Grand Prize: Insignificance by Nicolas Roeg
 * Prize of the Ecumenical Jury: The Official Story (La historia oficial) by Norma Aleandro
 * Foreign Film: Dance with a Stranger by Mike Newell
 * French Film: Tea in the Harem (Le thé au harem d'Archimède) by Mehdi Charef

Media

 * INA: Opening of the 1985 Festival (commentary in French)
 * INA: List of winners of the 1985 festival (commentary in French)