‘Women Dominate Cannes with Top Prize for ‘Anatomy of a Fall”

The Palme d’Or at the 76th Cannes Film Festival was awarded to French director Justine Triet for her tense courtroom drama, Anatomy of a Fall. The film features a powerful performance from German actress Sandra Hueller and a standout performance from “Messi”, the border collie who won the Palm Dog award. Triet used her acceptance speech to criticise the French government’s cultural policies and its “repression” of pension protests. This year’s festival featured a record seven women among the 21 entries in the competition, with many films featuring complex female characters. Other winners included Vietnamese-born French filmmaker Tran Anh Hung for Best Director and Japan’s Koji Yakusho for Best Actor.