1998 Cannes Film Festival

The 51st Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 May 1998. American director, producer, screenwriter, and film historian Martin Scorsese was the Jury President. The Palme d'Or went to the Greek film Mia aioniotita kai mia mera by Theo Angelopoulos.

The festival opened with Primary Colors, directed by Mike Nichols, and closed with Godzilla, directed by Roland Emmerich. Isabelle Huppert was the mistress of ceremonies.

In 1998, two new sections were added to the Official Selection, the Un Certain Regard and the Cinéfondation. The aim of the Cinéfondation section is to support the creation of works of cinema in the world and to contribute to the entry of the new scenario writers in the circle of the celebrities. For this, fifteen to twenty short and medium-length films by students from film schools from around the world are selected and the best three are awarded by the Cinéfondation and Short films Jury. Section Un Certain Regard "awards young talent and encourages innovative and audacious works by presenting one of the films with a grant to aid its distribution in France". Lulu on the Bridge, directed by Paul Auster, opened the Un Certain Regard section.

Main competition
The following people were appointed as the Jury for the feature films of the 1998 Official Selection:
 * Martin Scorsese (USA) - Jury President
 * Alain Corneau (France)
 * Chiara Mastroianni (France, Italy)
 * Chen Kaige (China)
 * Lena Olin (Sweden)
 * Winona Ryder (USA)
 * MC Solaar (France)
 * Zoe Valdes (Cuba)
 * Sigourney Weaver (USA)
 * Michael Winterbottom (UK)

Un Certain Regard
The following people were appointed as the Jury of the 1998 Un Certain Regard:
 * Jacques Mandelbaum - Jury President
 * Thierry Gandillot
 * Luc Honorez
 * Pierre Murat

Cinéfondation and short films
The following people were appointed as the Jury of the Cinéfondation and short films competition:
 * Jean-Pierre Jeunet (France) - Jury President
 * Emmanuelle Béart (France)
 * Arnaud Desplechin (France)
 * Jaco Van Dormael (Belgium)
 * Ángela Molina (Spain)

Camera d'Or
The following people were appointed as the Jury of the 1998 Camera d'Or:
 * Trần Anh Hùng (director) - Jury President
 * Derek Malcolm (critic)
 * Bernard Maltaverne (administration)
 * Marcel Martin (critic)
 * Emanuela Martini (critic)
 * Jacques Poitrenaud (director)
 * Pierre Salvadori (director)
 * Charlie Van Damme (cinematographer)

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


 * April (Aprile) by Nanni Moretti
 * The Celebration (Festen) by Thomas Vinterberg
 * Claire Dolan by Lodge Kerrigan
 * Class Trip (La classe de neige) by Claude Miller
 * Dance Me to My Song by Rolf de Heer
 * The Dreamlife of Angels (La vie rêvée des anges) by Erick Zonca
 * Eternity and a Day (Mia aioniotita kai mia mera) by Theodoros Angelopoulos
 * Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Terry Gilliam
 * Flowers of Shanghai (Hai shang hua) by Hou Hsiao-hsien
 * Foolish Heart (Corazón iluminado) by Héctor Babenco
 * The General by John Boorman
 * The Hole (Dong) by Tsai Ming-liang
 * Henry Fool by Hal Hartley
 * The Idiots (Idioterne) by Lars von Trier
 * Illuminata by John Turturro
 * Khrustalyov, My Car! (Khrustalyov, mashinu!) by Aleksei German
 * Life Is Beautiful (La vita è bella) by Roberto Benigni
 * My Name Is Joe by Ken Loach
 * The School of Flesh (L'école de la chair) by Benoît Jacquot
 * Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train (Ceux qui m'aiment prendront le train) by Patrice Chéreau
 * Velvet Goldmine by Todd Haynes
 * La vendedora de rosas by Víctor Gaviria

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


 * All the Little Animals by Jeremy Thomas
 * The Apostle by Robert Duvall
 * The Apple (La Pomme) by Samira Makhmalbaf
 * August 32nd on Earth (Un 32 août sur terre) by Denis Villeneuve
 * Daun di Atas Bantal by Garin Nugroho
 * El evangelio de las maravillas by Arturo Ripstein
 * For Sale (À vendre) by Laetitia Masson
 * The Impostors by Stanley Tucci
 * In the Presence of a Clown (Larmar och gör sig till) by Ingmar Bergman
 * Island, Alicia by Ken Yunome
 * Killer (Tueur à gages) by Darezhan Omirbaev
 * Little Tony (Kleine Teun) by Alex van Warmerdam
 * Louise (Take 2) by Siegfried
 * Love is the Devil by John Maybury
 * Lulu on the Bridge by Paul Auster
 * The Man Who Couldn't Open Doors by Paul Arden
 * The Mutants (Os mutantes) by Teresa Villaverde
 * One Evening After the War (Un soir après la guerre) by Rithy Panh
 * Passion (Szenvedély) by György Fehér
 * Places in Cities (Plätze in Städten) by Angela Schanelec
 * The Power of Kangwon Province by Hong Sang-soo
 * Rehearsals for War (Teatro di guerra) by Mario Martone
 * River of Gold (O Rio do Ouro) by Paulo Rocha
 * The Shoe (Kurpe) by Laila Pakalniņa
 * Tell Me I'm Dreaming (Dis-moi que je rêve) by Claude Mouriéras
 * Tokyo Eyes by Jean-Pierre Limosin
 * Zero Effect by Jake Kasdan

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


 * Anxiety (Inquietude) by Manoel de Oliveira *
 * Blues Brothers 2000 by John Landis
 * Dark City by Alex Proyas *
 * Godzilla by Roland Emmerich
 * Goodbye Lover by Roland Joffé *
 * Dr. Akagi (Kanzo Sensei) by Shohei Imamura *
 * Primary Colors by Mike Nichols
 * Tango by Carlos Saura *


 * * Special screenings

Cinéfondation
The following films were selected for the competition of Cinéfondation:


 * Blue City by David Birdsell
 * Deer Men by Saara Saarela
 * Die Weiche by Chrys Krikellis
 * Doom and Gloom by John McKay
 * The First Sin by Fahimeh Sorkhabi
 * Inside the Boxes by Mirjam Kubescha
 * Jakub by Adam Guzinski
 * Mud (Kal) by Ivaylo P. Simidchiev
 * Mangwana by Manu Kurewa
 * One Eye by Liana Dognini
 * The Photographer (Fotograf) by Alexander Kott
 * The Rose of the Railroad (Ratapenkan Ruusu) by Hanna Maylett
 * The Sheep Thief by Asif Kapadia
 * Summer-Time (Léto - cas dlouhých letu) by Ramunas Greicius
 * Wild Paths (Sentieri selvaggi) by Susanna Grigoletto

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


 * 9'8 M/S2 by Alfonso Amador, Nicolas Mendez
 * Balkanska Ruleta by Zdravko Barisic
 * Enfant, Gribouillage, Photos de Famille by Jun-hong Lin
 * Fetch by Lynn-Maree Danzey
 * Gasman by Lynne Ramsay
 * Happy Birthday to Me by Martin Mahon
 * Horseshoe by David Lodge
 * I Want You by Gregory Quail
 * Kiyida by Ebru Yapici
 * L'Interview by Xavier Giannoli
 * Skate by Eun-Ryung Cho

International Critics' Week
The following films were screened for the 37th International Critics' Week (37e Semaine de la Critique):

Feature film competition


 * The Bed (Postel) by Oskar Reif (Czech Republic)
 * Christmas in August by Hur Jin-Ho (South Korea)
 * I Stand Alone (Seul contre tous) by Gaspar Noé (France)
 * Memory & Desire by Niki Caro (New Zealand)
 * The Polish Bride (De Poolse bruid)) by Karim Traïdia (Netherlands)
 * Sitcom by François Ozon (France)
 * Torrente, el brazo tonto de la ley by Santiago Segura (Spain)

Short film competition


 * Brutalos by Christophe Billeter, David Leroy (Switzerland)
 * Down, Across (Loddrett, Vannrett) by Erland Øverby (Norway)
 * Flight by Sim Sadler (United States)
 * Der Hausbesorger by Stephan Wagner (Austria)
 * Milk by Andrea Arnold (United Kingdom)
 * Por un infante difunto by Tinieblas González (Spain)
 * The Rogers’ Cable by Jennifer Kierans (Canada)

Directors' Fortnight
The following films were screened for the 1998 Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalizateurs):


 * Babyface by Jack Blum
 * Cantique de la racaille by Vincent Ravalec
 * Chacun pour soi by Bruno Bontzolakis
 * Disparus by Gilles Bourdos
 * Happiness by Todd Solondz
 * Head On by Ana Kokkinos
 * High Art by Lisa Cholodenko
 * Hinterland (L’Arrière pays) by Jacques Nolot
 * L’homme qui rit by Paul Leni
 * Laisse un peu d'amour by Zaïda Ghorab-Volta
 * Last Night by Don McKellar
 * Le Nain rouge by Yvan Le Moine
 * Notes of Love (La Parola amore esiste) by Mimmo Calopresti
 * Of Freaks and Men (Pro urodov i lyudey) by Alexeï Balabanov
 * Requiem by Alain Tanner
 * Slam by Marc Levin
 * Slums Of Beverly Hills by Tamara Jenkins
 * Spring In My Hometown by Kwangmo Lee
 * The Stringer by Paul Pawlikowski
 * La Vie Sur Terre by Abderrahmane Sissako
 * West Beyrouth by Ziad Doueiri


 * Short films


 * A table by Idit Cébula (19 min.)
 * Le Bleu du ciel by Christian Dor (25 min.)
 * Open Bodies (Les corps ouverts) by Sébastien Lifshitz (47 min.)
 * Electrons statiques by Jean-Marc Moutout (25 min.)
 * Les Pinces à linge by Joël Brisse (23 min.)
 * Rue bleue by Chad Chenouga (24 min.)

Official awards
The following films and people received the 1998 Official selection awards: Un Certain Regard Cinéfondation Golden Camera Short Films
 * Palme d'Or: Eternity and a Day (Mia aioniotita kai mia mera) by Theodoros Angelopoulos
 * Grand Prize of the Jury: Life Is Beautiful (La vita è bella) by Roberto Benigni
 * Best Director: John Boorman for The General
 * Best Screenplay: Henry Fool by Hal Hartley
 * Best Actress: Élodie Bouchez and Natacha Régnier for The Dreamlife of Angels (La vie rêvée des anges)
 * Best Actor: Peter Mullan for My Name Is Joe
 * Best Artistic Contribution: Velvet Goldmine by Todd Haynes
 * Jury Prize:
 * The Celebration (Festen) by Thomas Vinterberg
 * Class Trip (La classe de neige) by Claude Miller
 * Un Certain Regard Award: Tueur à gages by Darezhan Omirbayev
 * First Prize: Jakub by Adam Guzinski
 * Second Prize: The Sheep Thief by Asif Kapadia
 * Third Prize: Mangwana by Manu Kurewa
 * Caméra d'Or: Slam by Marc Levin
 * Short Film Palme d'Or: L'interview by Xavier Giannoli
 * Jury Prize: Horseshoe by David Lodge & Gasman by Lynne Ramsay

Independent awards
FIPRESCI Prizes Commission Supérieure Technique Ecumenical Jury Award of the Youth Awards in the frame of International Critics' Week Awards in the frame of Directors' Fortnight Association Prix François Chalais
 * The Hole (Dong) by Tsai Ming-liang (In competition)
 * Happiness by Todd Solondz (Directors' Fortnight)
 * Technical Grand Prize: Vittorio Storaro (cinematography) in Tango
 * Prize of the Ecumenical Jury: Eternity and a Day (Mia aioniotita kai mia mera) by Theodoros Angelopoulos
 * Ecumenical Jury - Special award: Ingmar Bergman
 * Foreign Film: Last Night by Don McKellar
 * French Film: L'arrière pays by Jacques Nolot
 * Mercedes-Benz Award: I Stand Alone (Seul contre tous) by Gaspar Noé
 * Canal+ Award: Por un infante difunto by Tinieblas González
 * Grand Golden Rail: The Polish Bride (De Poolse bruid)) by Karim Traïdia
 * Small Golden Rail: Down, Across (Loddrett, Vannrett) by Erland Øverby
 * Kodak Short Film Award: Open Bodies (Les corps ouverts) by Sébastien Lifshitz & Rue bleue by Chad Chenouga
 * Gras Savoye Award: Rue bleue by Chad Chenouga
 * François Chalais Award: West Beyrouth by Ziad Doueiri

Media

 * INA: Opening of the 1998 Festival (commentary in French)
 * INA: List of prize-winners of the 1998 festival (commentary in French)