Maggie Cheung Wins Best Actress Award at Cannes Film Festival Asian Filmmakers and Stars Honored

Maggie Cheung Wins Best Actress Award
at Cannes Film Festival

Asian Filmmakers and Actors Honored

While Fahrenheit 9/11 , Michael Moore's scathing anti-George W. Bush documentary took top honors, the Palme dOr at the 57th Festival de Cannes , it was nothing short of a lovefest for Asian Cinema.

Maggie Cheung received the Best Actress Award for her role in Clean .

Directed by her ex-husband French director Olivier Assayas , Maggie Cheung stars as Emily, the widow of a rock star killed by an overdose, who tries to rebuild her life. Upon her release from prison where she was being held on drug charges, she tries to get her son back from her parents-in-law. The film features an international cast including Nick Nolte , Batrice Dalle , Jeanne Balibar and rapper Tricky .

Best Actor honors went to 14-year old Yagira Yuuya , for his performance in the quiet human drama Nobody Knows by Japanese director Kore-eda Hirokazu .

The film, inspired by a real event known as the Affair of the Four Abandoned Children of Nishi-Sugamo took place 16 years ago, in 1988. Born to different fathers, the abandoned children never went to school and didn't legally exist, their births never declared. Abandoned by their mother, they lived on their own for six months.

South Korean director Park Chan-Wook came in second to Michael Moore , receiving the Grand Prix Award for his ultra-violent revenge tale Old Boy .

Park Chan-Wooks second volume of a trilogy is based around the idea of vengeance. His first film was 2002's Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. Old Boy tells the story of Oh Dae-soo who is kidnapped in front of a telephone box.

When he awakes he finds himself locked in a cell. His only link with the outside world is a TV set, through which he learns that his wife has been murdered and he's the main suspect. During the 15 years he spends locked up he feeds his rage and plots revenge. When he is suddenly freed he receives a call from the person responsible for his imprisonment who proposes a game, If you find out the truth, you can meet me.

Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul , received a Jury Prize for his second feature Tropical Malady . The film is the first in the history of the Festival to be in competition from Thailand.

Best Director Award: Tony Gatlif for Exils
Best Screenplay Award: Comme une image by Agnes Jaoui and Jean-Pierre Bacri (France)
Jury Prize: Actress Irma P. Hall in The Ladykillers by the Coen Brothers (United States)
Camera d'Or: Keren Yedaya for Or (Israel)
Camera d'Or Special Mention: Lu Cheung (Passages) by Yang Chao
Bitter Dream by Mohsen Amiryoussefi (Iran)
Short Film Palm d'Or: Trafic by Catalin Mitulescu (Rumania)
Short Film Jury Prize: Flatlife by Jonas Geirnaert (Belgium)

Click here for a complete listing of the winners at the 57th Festival de Cannes.

Related:

Read AsianConnections.com interview with Maggie Cheung for her character in "In the Mood for Love" directed by Wong Kar Wai.