The 68th Cannes Film Festival awarded Jacques Audiard the Palme d'Or for Dheepan and gave Agnès Varda the first Honorary Palme d'Or ever presented to a female filmmaker.
Key Facts
- Dates
- 13 to 24 May 2015
- Palme d'Or winner
- Dheepan, directed by Jacques Audiard
- Jury Co-Presidents
- Ethan and Joel Coen (first co-presidency)
- Honorary Palme d'Or
- Agnès Varda — first female recipient
- Opening film
- Standing Tall by Emmanuelle Bercot
- Closing film
- Ice and the Sky by Luc Jacquet
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Cannes Film Festival organizers selected Ethan and Joel Coen as Co-Presidents of the Jury — an unprecedented arrangement — requiring a nine-person panel since each brother held a separate vote. The festival poster was chosen to honour Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman on the centenary of her birth.
The 68th Cannes Film Festival ran from 13 to 24 May 2015 in Cannes, France. French director Jacques Audiard received the Palme d'Or for Dheepan, while Agnès Varda was awarded the Honorary Palme d'Or at the closing ceremony. Artistic director Thierry Frémaux also drew attention by urging celebrities to avoid taking selfies on the red carpet.
Audiard's Palme d'Or win brought international attention to his French-language drama about Sri Lankan refugees. Varda's Honorary Palme d'Or, the first ever awarded to a female filmmaker, highlighted long-standing gender recognition gaps in cinema. The selfie controversy sparked broader discussion about social media culture at major film events.