Cannes: Icelandic Drama ‘Rams’ Wins Top Prize in Un Certain Regard

Isabella Rossellini’s jury also singled out “Zvizdan,” “Journey to the Shore” and “The Treasure”

Grimur Hakonarson’s “Rams” (“Hrutar”), a family drama set in a remote valley in Iceland, has been named the best film of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard section, a jury headed by actress Isabella Rossellini announced on Saturday.

Other awards in the section went to Dalibor Matanic’s trilogy about love amidst ethnic strife in the Balkans, “Zvizdan” (“The High Sun”), which won the jury prize; Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s supernatural seaside tale “Kishibe No Tabi” (“Journey to the Shore”), which won the award for directing; Romanian director Corneliu Porumboiu’s “Comoara” (“The Treasure”), which was award the Un Certain Talent Prize; and Neeraj Ghaywan’s “Nahid” and Ida Panahandeh’s “Masaan,” which shared the Promising Future Prize.

Un Certain Regard is typically devoted to films that are more adventurous than the films in Cannes’ main competition, with an emphasis on young and first-time filmmakers. This year’s selection was made up of 19 films, including Naomi Kawase’s “An,” Brilliante Mendoza’s “Taklub,” Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s “Cemetery of Splendour” and Alice Winokur’s “Maryland.”

See photos: Cannes Wrap Magazine Directors Portfolio: 10 Esteemed Auteurs Showing at the Festival (Photos)

In addition to Rossellini, the jury also included Saudi Arabian director Haifaa Al-Mansour, Lebanese director/actress Nadine Labaki, Greek filmmaker Panos H. Koutras and French-Algerian actor Tahar Rahim.

“The experience of watching nineteen films from twenty-one countries was memorable,” said Rossellini in a statement. “It was like taking a flight over our planet and its inhabitants… Any anthropologist would be envious of us.”

The Palme d’Or and other major Cannes awards will be announced by the main competition jury at an awards ceremony on Sunday.

Also read: How Cannes Films Have Fared at the Box Office: The Hits and Misses

The awards:

Prize of Un Certain Regard: “Rams” (“Hrutar”), Grimur Hakonarsons
Jury Prize: “Zvizdan,” Dalibor Matanic
Best Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa, “Journey to the Shore”
Un Certain Talent Prize: “The Treasure,” Corneliu Poromboiu
Promising Future Prize: (tie) “Nahid,” Ida Panahandeh; “Masaan,” Neeraj Ghaywan

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