1997 Cannes Film Festival

The 50th Cannes Film Festival was held from 7 to 18 May 1997. The Palme d'Or was jointly awarded to Ta'm e guilass by Abbas Kiarostami and Unagi by Shohei Imamura. Jeanne Moreau was the mistress of ceremonies.

The festival opened with The Fifth Element, directed by Luc Besson, and closed with Absolute Power, directed by Clint Eastwood.

Main competition
The following people were appointed as the Jury for the feature films of the 1997 Official Selection:
 * Isabelle Adjani (France) - Jury President
 * Paul Auster (USA)
 * Luc Bondy (Switzerland)
 * Tim Burton (USA)
 * Patrick Dupond (France)
 * Gong Li (China)
 * Mike Leigh (UK)
 * Nanni Moretti (Italy)
 * Michael Ondaatje (Canada)
 * Mira Sorvino (USA)

Caméra d'Or
The following people were appointed as the Jury of the 1997 Caméra d'Or:
 * Françoise Arnoul (actress) (France) - Jury President
 * Luciano Barisone (critic) (Italy)
 * Olivier Brunet-Lefebvre (cinephile) (France)
 * Julien Camy (cinephile) (France)
 * Ulrich Gregor (cinema historian) (Germany)
 * Gérard Lenne (critic) (France)
 * Jiří Menzel (director) (Czech Republic)
 * Nicolas Philibert (director) (France)

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


 * Assassin(s) by Mathieu Kassovitz
 * The Banned Woman (La femme défendue) by Philippe Harel
 * The Brave by Johnny Depp
 * The Eel (Unagi) by Shohei Imamura
 * The End of Violence by Wim Wenders
 * Funny Games by Michael Haneke
 * Happy Together (Chun gwong cha sit) by Wong Kar-wai
 * The Ice Storm by Ang Lee
 * Kini and Adams by Idrissa Ouedraogo
 * L.A. Confidential by Curtis Hanson
 * Nil by Mouth by Gary Oldman
 * The Prince of Homburg (Il principe di Homburg) by Marco Bellocchio
 * The Serpent's Kiss by Philippe Rousselot
 * She's So Lovely by Nick Cassavetes
 * The Sweet Hereafter by Atom Egoyan
 * Taste of Cherry (Ta'm e guilass) by Abbas Kiarostami
 * The Truce (La tregua) by Francesco Rosi
 * Welcome to Sarajevo by Michael Winterbottom
 * The Well by Samantha Lang
 * Western by Manuel Poirier

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


 * 12 Storeys by Eric Khoo
 * A, B, C... Manhattan by Amir Naderi
 * After Sex (Post-Coitum, Animal Triste) by Brigitte Roüan
 * Akrebin Yolculuğu by Ömer Kavur
 * American Perfekt by Paul Chart
 * Brother (Brat) by Aleksei Balabanov
 * La cruz by Alejandro Agresti
 * East Palace, West Palace (Dong gong xi gong) by Zhang Yuan
 * Gudia by Gautam Ghose
 * Histoire(s) du cinéma by Jean-Luc Godard
 * The House (A Casa) by Šarūnas Bartas
 * In the Company of Men by Neil LaBute
 * Inside/Out by Rob Tregenza
 * Love and Death on Long Island by Richard Kwietniowski
 * Lucky Star (1997 film) by Ricardo Franco
 * Marcello Mastroianni: I Remember (Marcello Mastroianni: mi ricordo, sì, io mi ricordo) by Anna Maria Tatò
 * Marius and Jeannette (Marius et Jeannette) by Robert Guédiguian
 * Mrs Brown by John Madden
 * Private Confessions (Enskilda samtal) by Liv Ullmann
 * Sunday by Jonathan Nossiter
 * Wind Echoing in My Being by Jeon Soo-il
 * The Witman Boys (Witman fiúk) by János Szász

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


 * Absolute Power by Clint Eastwood
 * The Blackout by Abel Ferrara
 * Destiny (Al-massir) by Youssef Chahine
 * The Fifth Element by Luc Besson
 * Hamlet by Kenneth Branagh
 * Michael Jackson's Ghosts by Stan Winston
 * Nirvana by Gabriele Salvatores
 * Voyage to the Beginning of the World (Viagem ao Princípio do Mundo) by Manoel de Oliveira
 * Welcome to Woop Woop by Stephan Elliott

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


 * Le Bon Endroit by Ayelet Bargur
 * Camera obscura by Stefano Arduino
 * Final Cut by Justin Case
 * ...Is It the Design on the Wrapper? (Est-ce à cause du dessin sur l'emballage?) by Tessa Sheridan
 * Joe by Sasha Wolf
 * Leonie by Lieven Debrauwer
 * Over The Rainbow by Alexandre Aja
 * Les Vacances by Emmanuelle Bercot

International Critics' Week
The following films were screened for the 36th International Critics' Week (36e Semaine de la Critique):

Feature film competition


 * Junk Mail (Budbringeren) by Pål Sletaune (Norway)
 * Mother of the Dunes (Faraw !) by Abdoulaye Ascofaré (Mali)
 * This World, Then the Fireworks by Michael Oblowitz (United States)
 * Le Mani forti by Franco Bernini (Italy)
 * Character (Karakter) by Mike van Diem (Netherlands)
 * Bent by Sean Mathias (United Kingdom)
 * Insomnia by Erik Skjoldbjærg (Norway)

Short film competition


 * The Signalman (Le Signaleur) by Benoît Mariage (Belgium)
 * Marylou by Todd Kurtzman & Danny Shorago (United States)
 * Adios Mama by Ariel Gordon (Mexico)
 * Tunnel of Love by Robert Milton Wallace (United Kingdom)
 * Muerto de amor by Ramón Barea (Spain)
 * O Prego by João Maia (Portugal)
 * Le Voleur de diagonale by Jean Darrigol (France)

Directors' Fortnight
The following films were screened for the 1997 Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalizateurs):


 * Buud-Yam by Gaston Kaboré
 * Cosmos by André Turpin, Arto Paragamian, Denis Villeneuve, Jennifer Alleyn, Manon Briand, Marie-Julie Dallaire
 * Dakan by Mohamed Camara
 * Hamam by Ferzan Ozpetek
 * I Hate Love (J'ai horreur de l'amour) by Laurence Ferreira Barbosa
 * Kicked In The Head by Matthew Harrison
 * Kissed by Lynne Stopkewich
 * L'autre côté de la mer by Dominique Cabrera
 * The Good Life (La buena vida) by David Trueba
 * La Vie de Jésus by Bruno Dumont
 * Ma 6-T va crack-er by Jean-François Richet
 * Ma vie en rose by Alain Berliner
 * Murmur of Youth by Lin Cheng-sheng
 * The Perfect Circle (Savrseni Krug) by Ademir Kenović
 * The Power of the Skirt (Taafe Fanga) by Adama Drabo
 * A Friend of the Deceased by Viacheslav Kryshtofovych
 * Sinon, oui by Claire Simon
 * My Son the Fanatic by Udayan Prasad
 * Suzaku by Naomi Kawase
 * Train of Shadows (Tren de sombras) by José Luis Guerin
 * Un frère… by Sylvie Verheyde


 * Short films


 * Liberté chérie by Jean-Luc Gaget
 * Soyons amis ! by Thomas Bardinet
 * Taxi de nuit by Marco Castilla
 * Tout doit disparaître by Jean-Marc Moutout
 * Y’a du foutage dans l’air by Djamel Bensalah

Official awards
The following films and people received the 1997 Official selection awards: Golden Camera Short Films
 * Palme d'Or:
 * Taste of Cherry (Ta'm e guilass) by Abbas Kiarostami
 * The Eel (Unagi) by Shōhei Imamura
 * Grand Prize of the Jury: The Sweet Hereafter by Atom Egoyan
 * Best Director: Wong Kar-wai for Happy Together (Chun gwong cha sit)
 * Best Screenplay: The Ice Storm by James Schamus
 * Best Actress: Kathy Burke for Nil by Mouth
 * Best Actor: Sean Penn for She's So Lovely
 * Jury Prize: Western by Manuel Poirier
 * 50th Anniversary Prize: Youssef Chahine (Lifetime Achievement Award)
 * Palm of the Palms: Ingmar Bergman
 * Caméra d'Or: Moe no suzaku by Naomi Kawase
 * Caméra d'Or - Special Mention: La Vie de Jésus by Bruno Dumont
 * Short Film Palme d'Or: ...Is It the Design on the Wrapper? by Tessa Sheridan
 * Jury Prize: Leonie by Lieven Debrauwer & Les Vacances by Emmanuelle Bercot

Independent awards
FIPRESCI Prizes Commission Supérieure Technique Ecumenical Jury Award of the Youth Awards in the frame of International Critics' Week Association Prix François Chalais
 * The Sweet Hereafter by Atom Egoyan (In competition)
 * Voyage to the Beginning of the World (Viagem ao Princípio do Mundo) by Manoel de Oliveira (Out of competition)
 * Technical Grand Prize: Thierry Arbogast (cinematography) in She's So Lovely and The Fifth Element
 * Prize of the Ecumenical Jury: The Sweet Hereafter by Atom Egoyan
 * Ecumenical Jury - Special Mention: La Buena Estrella by Ricardo Franco & Voyage to the Beginning of the World (Viagem ao Princípio do Mundo) by Manoel de Oliveira
 * Foreign Film: Bent by Sean Mathias
 * French Film: I Hate Love (J'ai horreur de l'amour) by Laurence Ferreira Barbosa
 * Mercedes-Benz Award: Junk Mail (Budbringeren) by Pål Sletaune
 * Canal+ Award: The Signalman (Le signaleur) by Benoît Mariage
 * François Chalais Award: The Perfect Circle (Savrseni krug) by Ademir Kenović

Media

 * INA: Climbing of the steps for the opening of the 1997 Festival (commentary in French)
 * INA: List of winners of the 1997 festival (commentary in French)