The 52nd Cannes Film Festival took place from 12 to 23 May 1999. Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg served as jury president for the main competition. Kristin Scott Thomas was the host for the opening and closing ceremonies.
Belgian filmmakers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne won the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, for the drama film Rosetta.
The festival opened with The Barber of Siberia by Nikita Mikhalkov, and closed with An Ideal Husband by Oliver Parker.
Juries Main competition David Cronenberg, Canadian filmmaker - Jury President Dominique Blanc, French actress Doris Dörrie, German filmmaker and producer Jeff Goldblum, American actor Barbara Hendricks, American singer Holly Hunter, American actress George Miller, Australian filmmaker Maurizio Nichetti, Italian filmmaker and actor. Yasmina Reza, French actor and writer André Téchiné, French filmmaker
Un Certain Regard Lambert Wilson, French actor - Jury President Irène Bignardi, critic Annie Coppermann, critic Thierry Gandillot, critic Jonathan Romney, critic Laurent Tirard, French filmmaker
Cinéfondation and Short Films Competition Thomas Vinterberg, Danish filmmaker - Jury President Cédric Klapisch, French filmmaker Virginie Ledoyen, French actress Walter Salles, Brazilian filmmaker Greta Scacchi, Italian-Austrian actress
Camera d'Or Michel Piccoli, French actor - Jury President Jean-Pierre Beauviala Cherifa Chabane, critic Caroline Champetier, French cinematographer: Paola Malanga, critic José Maria Riba, critic Marie Vermillard, director Peter Von Bagh, Finnish film historian and director
Official Selection In Competition The following feature films competed for the Palme d'Or: English titleOriginal titleDirector(s)Production country8½ WomenPeter GreenawayUnited Kingdom, Netherlands, Luxembourg, GermanyAll About My MotherPedro AlmodóvarSpain, FranceCradle Will Rock Tim RobbinsUnited StatesThe Emperor and the AssassinChen KaigeChinaFelicia's JourneyAtom EgoyanUnited Kingdom, CanadaGhost Dog: The Way of the SamuraiJim JarmuschUnited States, France, Germany, JapanHumanité Bruno DumontFranceKadoshAmos GitaiFrance, IsraelKikujiro Takeshi KitanoJapanThe Letter / Manoel de OliveiraFrance, PortugalLimbo John SaylesUnited StatesLove Will Tear Us Apart Nelson Yu Lik-waiHong KongMoloch Alexander SokurovRussiaThe NannyMarco BellocchioItalyNo One Writes to the ColonelArturo RipsteinMexico, Spain, FranceOur Happy LivesJacques MaillotFranceLeos CaraxFrance, Switzerland, Germany, JapanRosettaJean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc DardenneBelgium, FranceThe Straight StoryDavid LynchUnited States, United Kingdom, FranceTales of KishAbolfazl Jalili, Mohsen Makhmalbaf and Nasser TaghvaiIranTime RegainedRaúl RuizFrance, Italy, PortugalWonderland Michael WinterbottomUnited Kingdom
Un Certain Regard The following films were selected for the competition of Un Certain Regard: English titleOriginal titleDirector(s)Production countryAway with WordsChristopher DoyleHong Kong, JapanBeautiful PeopleJasmin DizdarUnited KingdomBeresina, or the Last Days of SwitzerlandDaniel SchmidSwitzerland, Germany, AustriaGenesis Cheick Oumar SissokoMali, FranceFerzan ÖzpetekTurkey, Italy, FranceIf I Give You my Humbleness, Don't Take Away my PrideKarin WesterlundDenmark, SwedenJudy BerlinEric MendelsohnUnited StatesKaizokuban Bootleg FilmMasahiro KobayashiJapanMarch of HappinessLin Cheng-shengTaiwanNadia and the HipposDominique CabreraFranceNew DawnÉmilie DeleuzeOlympic GarageMarco BechisArgentina, France, ItalyThe OtherYoussef ChahineEgypt, FranceThe PassengersJean-Claude GuiguetFranceThe PersonalsChen Kuo-fuTaiwanRatcatcherLynne RamsayUnited Kingdom, FranceThe ShadeRaphaël NadjariUnited StatesJean-Marie Straub and Danièle HuilletItaly, France, GermanySo Close to ParadiseWang XiaoshuaiChinaThe Spousals of GodJoão César MonteiroPortugalThrone of DeathMurali NairIndiaVanaprasthamShaji N. KarunFrance, IndiaThe Winslow BoyDavid MametUnited States
Out of Competition The following films were selected to be screened out of competition: English titleOriginal titleDirector(s)Production countryThe Barber of Siberia (opening film)Nikita MikhalkovRussia, France, Italy, Czech Republic, United StatesDogmaKevin SmithUnited StatesEDtvRon HowardEntrapmentJon AmielUnited States, United Kingdom, GermanyFarewell, Home Sweet HomeOtar IosselianiFranceAn Ideal Husband (closing film)Oliver ParkerUnited KingdomThe LimeySteven SoderberghUnited StatesMy Best FiendWerner HerzogGermany
Cinéfondation The following films were selected for the competition of Cinéfondation:
Baballoon () by Michal Zabka by Donata Pizzato The Clock by Noah Laracy by Fabrice Aragno The Execution by Lee In-Kyun Fish 073 () by Vaclav Svankmajer Germania by Kris Krikellis (With Rules) by Dover Kosashvili Inter-View by Jessica Hausner by Vladimir Kral Layover by Shen Ko-Shang by Iouri Kouzine Little Big Dog by Bo Hagen Clausen Milk by Mairi Cameron by Emmanuelle Bercot Runt by Jesse Lawrence Second Hand by Emily Young Waxandwane by Axel Koenzen by David Turner (Doll of Dreams) by Yamazaki Tatsuji
Short Films Competition The following short films competed for the Short Film Palme d'Or:
Billy's Balloon by Don Hertzfeldt The Cookie Thief by Hugo Currie, Toby Leslie Devil Doll by Jarl Olsen An Eternity by Daehyun Kim Food for Thought by John Paton, Matthew Ross Husk by Jerry Handler by Il-Gon Song by Vincent Pérez (France) Roulette by Roberto Santiago Simultaneity by Seong Sook Kim Stop by Rodolphe Marconi When the Day Breaks by Amanda Forbis, Wendy Tilby
Parallel sections International Critics' Week The following films were screened for the 38th International Critics' Week (38e Semaine de la Critique):
Feature film competition
by Wataru Hayakawa (Japan) by Icíar Bollaín (Spain) Hold Back the Night by Phil Davis (United Kingdom) On Board () by Serdar Akar (Turkey) Siam Sunset by John Polson (Australia) Strange Fits of Passion by Elise McCredie (Australia) The White Suit () by Lazar Ristovski (FR Yugoslavia)
Short film competition
The Circle () by Mohammad Shirvani (Iran) by Pascal Adant (Belgium) Fuzzy Logic by Tom Krueger (United States) The Good Son by Sean McGuire (United Kingdom) by Irène Sohm (France) More by Mark Osborne (United States) Shoes Off! by Mark Sawers (Canada)
Directors' Fortnight The following films were screened for the 1999 Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalizateurs):
by Romain Goupil Agnes Browne by Anjelica Huston The Blair Witch Project by Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez by Stéphane Brizé Charisma by Kiyoshi Kurosawa by Delphine Gleize by Benoît Mariage The Cup () by Khyentse Norbu Darkness and Light () by Chang Tso-Chi East Is East by Damien O'Donnell by Ricardo Larraín Fever by Alex Winter The Five Senses by Jeremy Podeswa by Sólveig Anspach by Valdas Navasaitis The Last September by Deborah Warner M/Other by Nobuhiro Suwa by Christine Carrière Scenery by Zhao Jisong by Chantal Akerman Summer of Sam by Spike Lee The Virgin Suicides by Sofia Coppola The War Zone by Tim Roth Voyages by Emmanuel Finkiel Paths in the Night by Andreas Kleinert
Short films
by Djibril Diop Mambety (45 min.) by Caroline Champetier (17 min.) by Eric Guirado (35 min.) (or The Little Girl Who Sold the Sun) by Djibril Diop Mambety (45 min.) by Florence Vignon (23 min.) by Fabienne Godet (43 min.) by Sylvia Calle (10 min.)
Official Awards
In Competition Palme d'Or: Rosetta by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne Grand Prix: Humanité by Bruno Dumont Best Director: Pedro Almodóvar for All About My Mother Best Screenplay: Moloch by Yuri Arabov Best Actress: Séverine Caneele for Humanité Émilie Dequenne for Rosetta Best Actor: Emmanuel Schotté for Humanité Jury Prize: The Letter by Manoel de Oliveira
Un Certain Regard Beautiful People by Jasmin Dizdar
Cinéfondation First Prize: Second Hand by Emily Young Second Prize: by Dover Koshashvili by Emmanuelle Bercot Third Prize: Little Big Dog by Bo Hagen Clausen Special Mention: Inter-View by Jessica Hausner
Caméra d'Or by Murali Nair
Short Film Palme d'Or When the Day Breaks by Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis Jury Prize: Stop by Rodolphe Marconi by Il-Gon Song
Independent Awards
FIPRESCI Prizes New Dawn by Émilie Deleuze M/Other by Nobuhiro Suwa (Directors' Fortnight)
Commission Supérieure Technique Technical Grand Prize: Juhua Tu (production design) in The Emperor and the Assassin
Prize of the Ecumenical Jury All About My Mother by Pedro Almodóvar Special Mention: Rosetta by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
Award of the Youth Foreign Film: The Blair Witch Project by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez French Film: Voyages by Emmanuel Finkiel
International Critics' Week Mercedes-Benz Award: Flowers from Another World by Icíar Bollaín Canal+ Award: Shoes Off! by Mark Sawers Grand Golden Rail: Siam Sunset by John Polson Little Golden Rail: by Pascal Adant
Directors' Fortnight Kodak Short Film Award: by Eric Guirado Kodak Short Film Award – Special Mention: by Sylvia Calle C.I.C.A.E. Award: by Christine Carrière Gras Savoye Award: by Delphine Gleize
François Chalais Award The Other by Youssef Chahine References
Media INA: Opening of the 1999 Festival (commentary in French) INA: List of winners of the 1999 festival (commentary in French)
External links
1999 Cannes Film Festival (web.archive) Official website Retrospective 1999 Cannes Film Festival Awards 1999 at Internet Movie Database