1991 Cannes Film Festival

The 44th Cannes Film Festival was held from 9 to 20 May 1991. The Palme d'Or went to Barton Fink by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen.

The festival opened with Homicide, directed by David Mamet and closed with Thelma & Louise, directed by Ridley Scott.

Main competition
The following people were appointed as the Jury of the 1991 feature film competition:
 * Roman Polanski (Poland) - Jury President
 * Férid Boughedir (Tunisia)
 * Whoopi Goldberg (USA)
 * Margaret Menegoz (France)
 * Natalya Negoda (Soviet Union)
 * Alan Parker (UK)
 * Jean-Paul Rappeneau (France)
 * Hans Dieter Seidel (Germany)
 * Vittorio Storaro (Italy)
 * Vangelis (Greece)

Camera d'Or
The following people were appointed as the Jury of the 1991 Caméra d'Or:
 * Géraldine Chaplin (actress) - Jury President
 * Jan Aghed (journalist) (Sweden)
 * Didier Beaudet (France)
 * Gilles Colpart (critic) (France)
 * Roger Kahane (director) (France)
 * Fernando Lara (cinephile) (Spain)
 * Eva Sirbu (journalist) (Romania)
 * Myriam Zemmour (cinephile) (France)

In competition - Feature film
The following feature films competed for the Palme d'Or: The Palme d'Or winner has been highlighted.

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


 * Boyz n the Hood by John Singleton
 * Burial of a Potato (Pogrzeb kartofla) by Jan Jakub Kolski
 * A Captive in the Land by John Berry
 * The Chosen One (Ishanou) by Aribam Syam Sharma
 * Comrade Chkalov Crosses the North Pole (Perekhod tovarishcha Chkalova cherez severnyy polyus) by Maksim Pezhemsky
 * L'entraînement du champion avant la course by Bernard Favre
 * Escape from the 'Liberty' Cinema (Ucieczka z kina 'Wolność') by Wojciech Marczewski
 * Fire! (Ta Dona) by Adama Drabo
 * Friends, Comrades (Ystävät, toverit) by Rauni Mollberg
 * Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse by Fax Bahr, George Hickenlooper
 * Holidays on the River Yarra by Leo Berkeley
 * In the Alleys of Love (Dar kouchehay-e eshq) by Khosrow Sinai
 * Lebewohl, Fremde by Tevfik Başer
 * Paths of Death and Angels (Halálutak és angyalok) by Zoltán Kamondi
 * Revenge (Mest) by Yermek Shinarbayev
 * The Tradition (Laada) by Drissa Toure
 * Sango Malo by Bassek Ba Kobhio
 * Treasure Island (L'île au trésor) by Raúl Ruiz
 * Woman of the Port (La mujer del puerto) by Arturo Ripstein
 * Yumeji by Seijun Suzuki

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


 * Le film du cinéma suisse by Michel Soutter, Jean-François Amiguet
 * Jacquot de Nantes by Agnès Varda
 * Life Stinks by Mel Brooks
 * Madonna: Truth or Dare (aka. In Bed with Madonna) by Alek Keshishian
 * Prospero's Books by Peter Greenaway
 * Rhapsody in August (Hachigatsu no rapusodī) by Akira Kurosawa
 * Thelma & Louise by Ridley Scott

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


 * Broken Skin by Anna Campion
 * Casino by Gil Bauwens
 * Les éffaceurs by Gérald Frydman
 * Ja, Wałęsa by Jacek Skalski
 * Mal de blocs by Marc Saint-Pierre, Nathalie Saint-Gelais
 * La Noce by Régis Obadia, Joëlle Bouvier
 * Nokturno by Nikola Majdak
 * Push Comes to Shove by Bill Plympton
 * La vie selon Luc by Jean-Paul Civeyrac
 * W.A.L. by Robert Turlo
 * With Hands Raised (Z podniesionymi rekami) by Mitko Panov

International Critics' Week
The following films were screened for the 30th International Critics' Week (30e Semaine de la Critique):

Feature film competition


 * Diabły, diabły by Dorota Kędzierzawska (Poland)
 * Laafi - Tout va bien by S. Pierre Yameogo (Burkina Faso)
 * Liquid Dreams by Mark S. Manos (United States)
 * Robert's Movie by Canan Gerede (Turkey)
 * Sam & Me by Deepa Mehta (Canada)
 * Trumpet Number 7 by Adrian Velicescu (United States)
 * La Vie des morts by Arnaud Desplechin (France)
 * Young Soul Rebels by Isaac Julien (United Kingdom)

Short film competition


 * Carne by Gaspar Noé (France)
 * Die mysreriosen lebenslinien by David Rühm (Austria)
 * Livraison à domicile by Claude Philippot (France)
 * A Nice Arrangement by Gurinder Chadha (United Kingdom)
 * Once Upon a Time by Kristian Petri (Sweden)
 * Petit drame dans la vie d’une femme by Andrée Pelletier (Canada)
 * Une Symphonie du havre by Barbara Doran (Canada)

Directors' Fortnight
The following films were screened for the 1991 Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalizateurs):


 * The Adjuster by Atom Egoyan
 * Annabelle partagée by Francesca Comencini
 * The Cabinet of Dr. Ramirez by Peter Sellars
 * Chichkhan by Fadhel Jaïbi, M. Ben Mahmoud
 * Danzón by Maria Novaro
 * O Drapetis by Lefteris Xanthopoulos
 * És mégis... by Zsolt Kézdi-Kovács
 * An Imaginary Tale (Une histoire inventée) by André Forcier
 * The Indian Runner by Sean Penn
 * Lost In Siberia by Alexander Mitta
 * Ovo Malo Duse by Ademir Kenović
 * Paris Trout by Stephen Gyllenhaal
 * Proof by Jocelyn Moorhouse
 * Adam's Rib by Vyacheslav Krishtofovich
 * Riff-Raff by Ken Loach
 * Toto the Hero (Toto le héros) by Jaco Van Dormael
 * Suffocating Heat (Caldo soffocante) by Giovanna Gagliardo


 * Short films


 * Le Caire by Youssef Chahine

Official awards
The following films and people received the 1991 Official selection awards: Golden Camera Short films
 * Palme d'Or: Barton Fink by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
 * Grand Prize of the Jury: La Belle Noiseuse by Jacques Rivette
 * Best Director: Joel Coen for Barton Fink
 * Best Actress: Irène Jacob for The Double Life of Véronique (La double vie de Véronique)
 * Best Actor: John Turturro for Barton Fink
 * Best Supporting Actor: Samuel L. Jackson for Jungle Fever
 * Jury Prize:
 * Europa by Lars von Trier
 * Out of Life (Hors la vie) by Maroun Bagdadi
 * Caméra d'Or: Toto le Héros by Jaco Van Dormael
 * Caméra d'Or - Special Mention: Proof by Jocelyn Moorhouse & Sam & Me by Deepa Mehta
 * Short Film Palme d'Or: With Hands Raised (Z podniesionymi rekami) by Mitko Panov
 * Special Jury Prize: Push Comes to Shove by Bill Plympton

Independent awards
FIPRESCI Prizes Commission Supérieure Technique Ecumenical Jury Award of the Youth Awards in the frame of International Critics' Week
 * The Double Life of Véronique (La double vie de Véronique) by Krzysztof Kieślowski (In competition)
 * Riff-Raff by Ken Loach (Directors' Fortnight)
 * Technical Grand Prize: Lars von Trier for Europa
 * Prize of the Ecumenical Jury: La double vie de Véronique by Krzysztof Kieślowski
 * Ecumenical Jury - Special Mention: Jungle Fever by Spike Lee & La Belle Noiseuse by Jacques Rivette
 * Foreign Film: Toto le Héros by Jaco Van Dormael
 * French Film: Cheb by Rachid Bouchareb
 * SACD Award:
 * Best Short: Carne by Gaspar Noé
 * Best Feature: Young Soul Rebels by Isaac Julien

Media

 * INA: Robert Mitchum opens the 1991 Festival (commentary in French)
 * INA: List of winners of the 1991 festival (commentary in French)