The 64th Cannes Film Festival was held from 11 to 22 May 2011. American actor Robert De Niro served as the president of the jury for the main competition and French filmmaker Michel Gondry headed the jury for the short film competition. South Korean film director Bong Joon-ho was the head of the jury for the Caméra d'Or prize, which is awarded to the best first-time filmmaker. The American film The Tree of Life, directed by Terrence Malick won the Palme d'Or.

Midnight in Paris, written and directed by Woody Allen, opened the festival and Beloved (Les Bien-aimés), directed by Christophe Honoré and screened as out of competition, closed the festival. Mélanie Laurent hosted the opening and closing ceremonies.

Italian film director Bernardo Bertolucci was presented with the third Honorary Palme d'Or Award at the opening ceremony of the festival. Though the award had been given out sporadically in the past the Honorary Palme d'Or was supposed to presented annually after 2011. However it was not given again until the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. Gus Van Sant's Restless opened the Un Certain Regard section. Jailed Iranian film directors Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof were honoured at the festival. Goodbye by Rasoulof and Panahi's This Is Not a Film was screened at the festival, and Panahi was awarded the Carrosse d'Or. Four female directors featured in the main competition: Australian Julia Leigh, Japan's Naomi Kawase, Scottish director Lynne Ramsay and France's own Maïwenn Le Besco.

Danish film director Lars von Trier caused controversy with comments he made at the press conference of his film Melancholia. When he was asked about the relation between the influences of German Romanticism in the film and his own German heritage, the director made jokes about Jews and Nazis. He said he understood Adolf Hitler and admired the work of architect Albert Speer, and jokingly announced that he was a Nazi. The Cannes Film Festival first issued an official apology for the remarks the same day and clarified that Trier is not a Nazi or an antisemite, then declared the director "persona non grata" the following day. The film remained in competition.

Juries

Main competition

The following people were appointed as the Jury for the feature films of the 2010 Official Selection:

• Robert De Niro, American actor and producer - Jury President
• Olivier Assayas, French filmmaker
• Martina Gusmán, Argentine actress and producer
• Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Chadian filmmaker
• Jude Law, English actor
• Nansun Shi, Hong Kong producer
• Uma Thurman, American actress
• Johnnie To, Hong Kong director and producer
• Linn Ullmann, Norwegian critic and writer

Un Certain Regard

• Emir Kusturica, Serbian filmmaker - Jury President
• Élodie Bouchez, French actress
• Peter Bradshaw, British critic
• Geoffrey Gilmore, American Creative Director of Tribeca Enterprises
• Daniela Michel, Mexican director of the Morelia Festival

Cinéfondation and Short Films Competition

• Michel Gondry, French director - Jury President
• Julie Gayet (French actress and producer
• Jessica Hausner, Austrian filmmaker and producer
• Corneliu Porumboiu, Romanian filmmaker
• João Pedro Rodrigues, Portuguese filmmaker

Camera d'Or

• Bong Joon-ho, South Korean filmmaker - Jury President
• Robert Alazraki, French cinematographer
• Daniel Colland, French manager of Cinedia laboratory
• Danièle Heymann, French critic
• Jacques Maillot, French director
• Alex Masson, French critic
• Eva Vezer, Hungarian Head of Magyar Filmunio

Critics' Week.

Nespresso Grand Prize

• Lee Chang-dong, South Korean filmmaker - Jury President
• Scott Foundas, American film critic
• Nick James, English film critic
• Cristina Piccino, Italian film critic
• Sergio Wolf, Argentinian film critic and curator

Official Selection

In Competition

The following feature films competed for the Palme d'Or. The Palme d'Or winner has been highlighted:

(CdO) indicates film eligible for the Caméra d'Or as directorial debut feature.

Un Certain Regard

The following films were selected for the competition of Un Certain Regard. The Prix un certain regard winners have been highlighted:

(CdO) indicates film eligible for the Caméra d'Or as directorial debut feature.

Out of Competition

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

(CdO) indicates film eligible for the Caméra d'Or as directorial debut feature.

Special Screenings

The following films were shown as special screenings.

(CdO) indicates film eligible for the Caméra d'Or as directorial debut feature.

Cinéfondation

The following films were selected to be screened in the Cinéfondation section, which focuses on short films made by students at film schools. The winner of the Cinéfondation First Prize has been highlighted:

Short films

The following short films competed for the Short Film Palme d'Or. The Short film Palme d'Or winner has been highlighted:

Cannes Classics

The following films were selected to be screened in the Cannes Classics section.

Cinéma de la Plage

The Cinéma de la Plage is a part of the Official Selection of the festival. The outdoors screenings at the beach cinema of Cannes are open to the public.

Parallel Sections

Critics' Week

The line-up for the Critics' Week section was announced on 18 April at the section's website. Declaration of War, directed by Valérie Donzelli, and Bachelor Days Are Over, directed by Katia Lewkowicz, were selected as the opening and closing films of the Semaine de la Critique section.

Feature films

(CdO) indicates film eligible for the Caméra d'Or as directorial debut feature.

Short Films

Special Screenings

(CdO) indicates film eligible for the Caméra d'Or as directorial debut feature.

Directors' Fortnight

The following films were selected to be screened in the independent Directors' Fortnight section:

Feature Films

(CdO) indicates film eligible for the Caméra d'Or as directorial debut feature.

Special Screenings

Short films

Official Awards

The Palme d'Or was won by the American film The Tree of Life directed by Terrence Malick. Two of the film's producers, Bill Pohlad and Sarah Green, accepted the prize on behalf of the reclusive Malick. The Tree of Life is the first American film to win the Palme d'Or since Fahrenheit 9/11 in 2004. Head of the jury, Robert De Niro, said it was difficult to choose a winner, but The Tree of Life "ultimately fit the bill". De Niro explained, "It had the size, the importance, the intention, whatever you want to call it, that seemed to fit the prize."

The following films and people received the 2011 Official selection awards:

In Competition

• Palme d'Or: The Tree of Life by Terrence Malick
• Grand Prix:
  • Once Upon a Time in Anatolia by Nuri Bilge Ceylan
  • The Kid with a Bike by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
• Best Director: Nicolas Winding Refn for Drive
• Best Screenplay: Footnote by Joseph Cedar
• Best Actress: Kirsten Dunst for Melancholia
• Best Actor: Jean Dujardin for The Artist
• Prix du Jury: Polisse by Maïwenn

Un Certain Regard

• Prix Un Certain Regard:
  • Arirang by Kim Ki-duk
  • Stopped on Track by Andreas Dresen
• Un Certain Regard Jury Prize: Elena by Andrey Zvyagintsev
• Un Certain Regard Best Director Award: Mohammad Rasoulof for Goodbye

Cinéfondation

• 1st Prize: The Letter by Doroteya Droumeva
• 2nd Prize: Drari by Kamal Nazraq
• 3rd Prize: Fly by Night by Son Tae-gyum

Caméra d'Or

• Las Acacias by Pablo Giorgelli

Short Films Competition

• Short Film Palme d'Or: Cross by Marina Vroda
  • Special Mention: Swimsuit 46 by Wannes Destoop

Independent Awards

FIPRESCI Prizes

• Le Havre by Aki Kaurismäki (In Competition)
• The Minister by Pierre Schöller (Un Certain Regard)
• Take Shelter by Jeff Nichols (Critics' Week)

Vulcan Award of the Technical Artist

• Vulcan Award: José Luis Alcaine (cinematography) for The Skin I Live In

Prize of the Ecumenical Jury

• This Must Be the Place by Paolo Sorrentino
  • Special Mention:
  • Le Havre by Aki Kaurismäki
  • Where Do We Go Now? by Nadine Labaki

Critics' Week

• Critics Week Nespresso Grand Prize: Take Shelter by Jeff Nichols
• Special Mention from the Jury President: Snowtown by Justin Kurzel
• Prix SACD: Take Shelter by Jeff Nichols
• ACID/CCAS Prize: Las Acacias by Pablo Giorgelli
• Very Young Critics Prize: Las Acacias by Pablo Giorgelli

Directors' Fortnight

• International Confederation of Art Cinemas: The Giants by Bouli Lanners
• Prix SACD: The Giants by Bouli Lanners

Prix François Chalais

• Where Do We Go Now? by Nadine Labaki

Queer Palm

• Beauty by Oliver Hermanus

Palm Dog

• Palm Dog Award: Uggy for The Artist
• Special Jury Prize: Laika for Le Havre

References

External links

• Official website Retrospective 2011 Archived 31 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine
• 64ème Festival de Cannes, cinema-francais.fr
• Cannes Film Festival:2011 at Internet Movie Database
• Cannes Film Festival 2011 – Radio France Internationale