The 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 14 to 25 May 2008. American actor and filmmaker Sean Penn served as jury president for the main competition. French filmmaker Laurent Cantet won the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, for the drama film The Class.
The festival opened with Blindness by Fernando Meirelles and closed with What Just Happened by Barry Levinson. Édouard Baer was the master of ceremonies.
The British press reported the list of films in competition this year was notable for its absence of British films for the second successive year.
Juries
Main competition Sean Penn, American actor and director – Jury President Jeanne Balibar, French actress and singer Rachid Bouchareb, Franco-Algerian director Sergio Castellitto, Italian actor and director Alfonso Cuaron, Mexican filmmaker Alexandra Maria Lara, German-Romanian actress Natalie Portman, Israeli-American actress Marjane Satrapi, Iranian-French author and director Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Thai filmmaker
Fatih Akin, Turkish-German director – Jury President Anupama Chopra, Indian film critic and author Yasser Moheb, critic Yekaterina Mtsituridze, Russian journalist José Maria Prado, Spanish filmoteca manager
and Short Films Competition Hou Hsiao-hsien, Taiwanese filmmaker – Jury President Olivier Assayas, French filmmaker Susanne Bier, Danish filmmaker Marina Hands, French actress Laurence Kardish, American curator
Caméra d'Or Bruno Dumont, French filmmaker – Jury President Isabelle Danel, critic Jean-Michel Frodon, French critic Monique Kourdine, French member of the Fédération des Industries Tech Willy Kurant, Belgian cinematographer Jean Henri Roger, French director
Official selection In Competition The following feature films competed for the Palme d'Or: English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country24 City二十四城记/二十四城記 Jia ZhangkeChinaAdoration Atom EgoyanCanadaBlindness (opening film) Fernando MeirellesBrazil, Canada, JapanChangeling Clint EastwoodUnited StatesChe (part I: The Argentine and part II: Guerilla)Steven SoderberghSpain, Germany, France, United States A Christmas TaleArnaud DesplechinFrance The Class Entre les mursLaurent Cantet FranceDeltaKornél MundruczóHungaryIl Divo Paolo SorrentinoItalyFrontier of the Dawn Philippe GarrelFranceGomorrahGomorra Matteo GarroneItaly The Headless Woman Lucrecia Martel Argentina, Spain, France, ItalyLion's DenLeonera Pablo TraperoArgentina, South Korea, Brazil, SpainLinha de PasseWalter Salles and Daniela ThomasBrazilMy Magic Eric KhooSingapore Palermo Shooting Wim WendersGermany, France, ItalyServiceSerbisBrillante MendozaPhilippines, FranceLorna's SilenceJean-Pierre and Luc DardenneBelgium, Italy, GermanySynecdoche, New York Charlie KaufmanUnited StatesThree Monkeys Üç Maymun Nuri Bilge CeylanTurkeyTwo Lovers James GrayUnited StatesWaltz with Bashir Ari FolmanIsrael, France
The following films were selected for the competition of Un Certain Regard: English Title Original Title Director(s) Production CountryAfterschoolAntonio CamposUnited StatesAmat EscalanteMexico, France, United StatesCloud 9Wolke NeunAndreas DresenGermanyThe Dead Girl's FeastMatheus NachtergaeleBrazilHungerSteve McQueenIreland, United KingdomInvoluntaryRuben ÖstlundSwedenI Want to SeeJoana Hadjithomas and Khalil JoreigeFrance, LebanonJohnny Mad DogJean-Stéphane SauvaireFrance, Belgium, LiberiaModern LifeRaymond DepardonFranceOcean FlameFendou LiuHong KongO' HortenBent HamerNorway, France, Germany, DenmarkParking Chung Mong-HongTaiwanSalt of this Seaملح هذا البحرAnnemarie JacirPalestine, France, Israel, United States, Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, SwitzerlandSoi CowboyซอยคาวบอยThomas ClayThailand, United KingdomTokyo!Michel Gondry, Leos Carax and Bong Joon-hoFrance, Japan, South Korea, GermanyTokyo SonataKiyoshi KurosawaJapanTulpanТюльпанSergey DvortsevoyKazakhstan, GermanyTysonJames TobackUnited StatesVersaillesPierre SchoellerFranceWendy and LucyKelly ReichardtUnited States
Out of Competition The following films were selected to be screened out of competition: English Title Original Title Director(s) Production CountryThe ChaserNa Hong-jinSouth KoreaThe Good, the Bad, the Weird좋은 놈, 나쁜 놈, 이상한 놈Kim Jee-woonIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal SkullSteven SpielbergUnited StatesKung Fu PandaJohn Stevenson and Mark OsborneMaradona by KusturicaEmir Kusturica SerbiaSurveillance Jennifer LynchUnited StatesVicky Cristina BarcelonaWoody AllenSpain, United StatesWhat Just Happened (closing film)Barry LevinsonUnited States
Special Screenings The following films were selected for the Special Screenings: English Title Original Title Director(s) Production CountryAshes of Time Redux (1994)Wong Kar-waiHong KongDaniel Leconte FranceChelsea on the RocksAbel FerraraUnited StatesOf Time and the CityTerence DaviesUnited KingdomRoman Polanski: Wanted and DesiredMarina ZenovichUnited States, United KingdomThe Third WaveAlison ThompsonUnited States, Sri LankaWild BloodSanguepazzoMarco Tullio GiordanaItaly, France
Cinéfondation The following short films were selected for the competition of Cinéfondation:
August 15th (Ba yue shi wu) by Jiang Xuan Blind Spot by Johanna Bessiere, Nicolas Chauvelot, Olivier Clert, Cécile Dubois Herry, Yvon Jardel, Simon Rouby El Reloj (The Watch) by Marco Berger (And I’ll Keep in My Heart) by Yoon Sung-A Forbach by Claire Burger Gata by Diana Mkrtchyan (The Other Day In Eden) by Jan Speckenbach Himnon (Anthem) by Elad Keidan Illusion Dwellers by Robb Ellender (Interior. Bloc of Flats Hallway) by Ciprian Alexandrescu (Roadmarkers) by Juho Kuosmanen Naus by Lukás Glaser (Sound and the Rest) by André Lavaquial Shtika (Silence) by Hadar Morag Stop by Park Jae-Ok The Maid by Heidi Saman This Is a Story About Ted and Alice by Teressa Tunney
Short Films Competition The following short films competed for the Short Film Palme d'Or:
411-Z by Daniel Erdélyi Buen Viaje by Javier Palleiro by Mélanie Laurent (France) El Deseo by Marie Benito Jerrycan by Julius Avery Love You More by Sam Taylor-Wood Megatron] by Marian Crişan My Rabbit Hoppy by Anthony Lucas Smafuglar by Rúnar Rúnarsson
Cannes Classics The following films were selected for the Cannes Classics section: English Title Original Title Director(s) Production CountryRestored prints13 jours en France (1968)Claude Lelouch and François ReichenbachFrance24 Hours in the Life of a Woman (1968)24 heures de la vie d'une femmeDominique DeloucheFrance, West GermanyAnna Karenina (1967)Анна КаренинаAleksandr ZarkhiSoviet UnionThe Big Snooze (short) (1946)Bob ClampettUnited StatesBirds Anonymous (short) (1957)Friz FrelengBlazing Saddles (1974)Mel BrooksBonnie and Clyde (1967)Arthur PennBook Revue (short) (1946)Bob ClampettCaptain Blood (1935)Michael CurtizDirty Harry (1971)Don SiegelDry Summer (1964)Susuz YazMetin ErksanTurkeyDuck Amuck (short) (1953)Chuck JonesUnited StatesThe Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972)Paul NewmanEnter the Dragon (1973)Robert ClouseHong Kong, United StatesFingers (1978)James TobackUnited StatesGamperaliya (1963)ගම්පෙරලියLester James PeriesSri LankaGuide (1965)Vijay AnandIndia, United StatesHoly Blood (1989)Santa SangreAlejandro JodorowskyMexico, ItalyThe Housemaid (1960)Kim Ki-youngSouth KoreaI Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)Mervyn LeRoyUnited StatesI Love to Singa (short) (1936)Tex AveryInterviews with My Lai Veterans (short) (1970)Joseph StrickThe Invisible Man (1933)James WhaleLet's Get Lost (1989)Bruce WeberLola Montès (1955)Max OphülsFrance, West GermanyThe Long Day's Dying (1968)Peter CollinsonUnited KingdomThe Matrix (1999)Lana and Lilly Wachowski United States, AustraliaOne Froggy Evening (short) (1955)Chuck JonesUnited StatesOrpheus (1950)OrphéeJean CocteauFranceThe Passionate Friends (1949)David LeanUnited KingdomPeppermint Frappé (1967)Carlos SauraSpainPorky in Wackyland (short) (1938)Bob ClampettUnited StatesRabbit of Seville (short) (1950)Chuck JonesThe Savage Eye (1960)Ben Maddow, Sidney Meyers and Joseph StrickThis Happy Breed (1944)David LeanUnited KingdomTouki Bouki (1973)Djibril Diop MambétySenegalWhat Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)Robert AldrichUnited StatesWhat's Opera, Doc? (short) (1957)Chuck JonesWhat's Up Doc? (1972)Peter BogdanovichZigeunerweisen (1980)Seijun SuzukiJapanTributesLabor on the Douro Rive (short) (1931)Douro, Faina FluvialManoel de OliveiraPortugalDocumentaries about CinemaClaude VenturaFranceAnne KunvariThe Mystery of SambaCarolina Jabor and Lula Buarque De HollandaBrazilNo Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & VilmosJames ChressanthisUnited States
Parallel sections Critics' Week The following films were screened for the 47th International Critics' Week (): English Title Original Title Director(s) Production CountryIn CompetitionBetter ThingsDuane HopkinsUnited KingdomBlood AppearsPablo FendrikArgentina, France, GermanyEverybody Dies but MeВсе умрут, а я останусьValeriya Gai GermanikaRussiaGrown UpsAnna NovionFrance, SwedenMoscow, BelgiumChristophe Van RompaeyBelgiumSnowSnijegAida BegićBosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, France, IranThe Stranger in MeEmily AtefGermanyShort Films CompetitionA esperaFernanda TeixeiraBrazilAhendu nde sapukaiPablo LamarArgentina, ParaguayNicolas EngelFranceErgoGéza M. TóthHungaryNext FloorDenis VilleneuveCanadaNosebleedJeff VespaUnited StatesSkhizeinJérémy ClapinFranceSpecial ScreeningsThe Desert WithinRodrigo PláMexicoThe End of Poverty?Philippe DiazUnited StatesRonan Dénécé, Augustin Legrand and Jean-Baptiste LegrandFranceHomeUrsula MeierSwitzerland, France, BelgiumRumbaDominique Abel and Fiona GordonFrance, BelgiumShivaשבעהRonit Elkabetz and Shlomi ElkabetzIsrael, FranceSpecial Screenings – Short FilmsBeyond the Mexique BayJean-Marc Rousseau RuizFrance, MexicoDavid Coquard-DassaultFrance, CanadaThe Ylang Ylang ResidenceLa Résidence Ylang YlangHachimiya AhamadaComoros, FranceSandAreiaCaetano GotardoBrazilPrix de la CritiqueJean-Sébastien ChauvinFranceGraffitiVano BurduliGeorgiaHélier CisterneFranceA Relationship in Four DaysPeter GlanzUnited StatesTaxi WalaLola FrederichFranceYoung Man FallingMartin de ThurahDenmark
Directors' Fortnight The following films were screened for the 2008 Directors' Fortnight (): English Title Original Title Director(s) Production CountryAcneAcnéFederico VeirojUruguay, Argentina, Mexico, SpainBoogie Radu MunteanRomaniaBirdsongAlbert SerraSpainBlind LovesSlepe láskyJuraj LehotskýSlovakiaFour Nights with Anna (opening film)Jerzy SkolimowskiPoland, FranceAdhenRabah Ameur-ZaïmecheAlgeria, FranceEldorado Bouli LannersBelgiumGod's OfficesClaire SimonFranceKnitting Yin LichuanChinaLiverpool Lisandro AlonsoArgentina, France, Netherlands, Germany, SpainLonely Tunes of TehranTaraneh Tanhaïye Tehran Saman SalurIranNicola SornagaFranceNow Showing Raya MartinPhilippines, FranceOn WarBertrand BonelloFranceOur Beloved Month of AugustMiguel GomesPortugalThe Pleasure of Being RobbedJosh SafdieUnited StatesPrivate LessonsÉlève libreJoachim LafosseBelgium, FranceThe Rest of the NightFrancesco MunziItalySalamandraPablo AgüeroArgentinaShultes ШультесBakur BakuradzeRussiaTony ManeroPablo LarraínChileArnaud and Jean-Marie LarrieuFranceSpecial screenings
40X15 by Olivier Jahan by Danièle Huillet, Jean-Marie Straub (40 min) by Jean-Marie Straub (26 min) Milestones (Reprise) by John Douglas, Robert Kramer
Short films
The Acquaintances of a Lonely John by Benny Safdie by Easter Morning by Bruce Conner by Valérie Donzelli by Yann Gonzalez by Soufiane Adel MAN by Myna Joseph Mes copains by Louis Garrel Muro by Tião by Johannes Nyholm Summer Afternoon by Wi-ding Ho by Martin Turk
Official Awards
In Competition The following films and people received the 2008 Official selection awards: Palme d'Or: The Class by Laurent Cantet Grand Prix: Gomorra by Matteo Garrone Best Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan for Three Monkeys Best Screenplay: Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne for Lorna's Silence Best Actress: Sandra Corveloni in Linha de Passe