The 49th Cannes Film Festival took place from 9 to 20 May 1996. American filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola served as jury president for the main competition. Sabine Azéma hosted the opening and closing ceremonies.
British filmmaker Mike Leigh won the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, for the drama film Secrets & Lies.
The festival opened with Ridicule by Patrice Leconte, and closed with Flirting with Disaster by David O. Russell.
Juries Main competition Francis Ford Coppola, American filmmaker - Jury President Michael Ballhaus, German cinematographer Nathalie Baye, French actress Henry Chapier, French journalist, presenter and director Atom Egoyan, Canadian filmmaker Eiko Ishioka, Japanese artist and costume designer Krzysztof Piesiewicz, Polish screenwriter Greta Scacchi, Italian actress Antonio Tabucchi, Italian writer Trần Anh Hùng, Vietnamese-French filmmaker
Camera d'Or Françoise Fabian, French actress - Jury President Gian Luca Farinelli, Cinephile Ramon Font, Critic Sandrine Gady, Cinephile Jacques Kermabon, Critic Daniel Schmid, Swiss director Antoine Simkine, French member of the Fédération Nationale des Industries
Official Selection
In competition The following feature films competed for the Palme d'Or: English titleOriginal titleDirector(s)Production countryBreaking the WavesLars von TrierDenmark, Sweden, France, Netherlands, Norway, Iceland, Finland, Italy, Germany, United StatesMy Sex Life... or How I Got into an ArgumentArnaud DesplechinFranceCrashDavid CronenbergCanadaDrifting CloudsAki KaurismäkiFinlandEarthJulio MedemSpainThe Eighth DayJaco Van DormaelBelgium, FranceFargoJoel CoenUnited States, United KingdomGoodbye South, GoodbyeHou Hsiao-hsienTaiwan, JapanKansas CityRobert AltmanUnited StatesThe Quiet RoomRolf de HeerAustraliaRidicule (opening film)Patrice LeconteFranceThe Second TimeMimmo CaloprestiItalySecrets & Lies Mike LeighUnited Kingdom, FranceA Self-Made HeroJacques AudiardFranceStealing Beauty / Bernardo BertolucciFrance, Italy, United KingdomThe SunchaserMichael CiminoUnited StatesTemptress MoonChen KaigeChinaThievesAndré TéchinéFranceThree Lives and Only One DeathRaúl RuizFranceToo LateLucian PintilieRomaniaTree of Blood Flora GomesGuinea-Bissau, FranceThe VanStephen FrearsIreland
Un Certain Regard The following films were selected for Un Certain Regard section: English titleOriginal titleDirector(s)Production countryAt Full GallopKrzysztof ZanussiPolandBastard Out of CarolinaAnjelica HustonUnited States Lucile HadžihalilovićFranceBuenos Aires Vice VersaAlejandro AgrestiArgentina, NetherlandsThe Ferry Laila PakalniņaLatviaFew of UsŠarūnas BartasLithuaniaAlain TannerFrance, SwitzerlandGabbeh Mohsen MakhmalbafIran, FranceHaifa Rashid MasharawiPalestineHard EightSydneyPaul Thomas AndersonUnited StatesI Shot Andy WarholMary HarronUnited States, United KingdomIrma VepOlivier AssayasFranceLooking for Richard Al PacinoUnited StatesLove SerenadeShirley BarrettAustraliaLuluSrinivas KrishnaCanadaThe Mail Laila PakalniņaLatviaMossaneSafi FayeSenegalNo Way to ForgetRichard FranklandAustraliaThe PallbearerMatt ReevesUnited StatesThe Pillow BookPeter GreenawayNetherlands, United Kingdom, France, LuxembourgA Saturday on EarthDiane BertrandFranceSome Mother's SonTerry GeorgeIreland, United StatesA Summer's TaleÉric RohmerFranceTraveling CompanionPeter Del MonteItalyThe Waste LandDeborah WarnerUnited Kingdom
Out of Competition The following films were selected to be screened out of competition: English titleOriginal titleDirector(s)Production countryThe Elective AffinitiesPaolo and Vittorio TavianiItaly, FranceFlirting with Disaster (closing film)David O. RussellUnited StatesGirl 6Spike LeeMicrocosmos Claude Nuridsany and Marie PerennouFrance, Switzerland, Italy, United KingdomOpening Day of Close-Up (short)Nanni MorettiItalyRunaway Brain (short)Chris BaileyUnited StatesTrainspotting Danny BoyleUnited Kingdom
Short Films Competition The following short films competed for the Short Film Palme d'Or:
by Guillermo Rendon Rodriguez, Jorge Villalobos de La Torre Attraction by Alexeï Diomine Brooms by Luke Cresswell, Steve Mcnicholas by Pedro Miguel Serrazina Film Noir by Michael Liu by Pierre Erwan Guillaume by Murali Nair by João César Monteiro by Luc Otter Sin #8 by Barbara Heller Small Deaths by Lynne Ramsay (Wind) by Marcell Iványi The Beach by Dorthe Scheffmann This Film Is a Dog by Jonathan Ogilvie
Parallel sections International Critics' Week The following films were screened for the 35th International Critics' Week (35e Semaine de la Critique):
Feature film competition
by Jean-Pierre Améris (France) Yuri by Yoonho Yang (South Korea) by Tatiana Gaviola (Chile) The Empty Mirror by Barry J. Hershey (United States) The Daytrippers by Greg Mottola (United States) A Drifting Life by Lin Cheng-sheng (Taiwan) Not Me! () by Pierre Gang (Canada)
Short film competition
Planet Man by Andrew Bancroft (New Zealand) A Summer Dress () by François Ozon (France) by Youri Tcherenkov (France) by Marc Henri Wajnberg (Belgium) The Slap by Tamara Hernandez (United States) by Fernando Javier León Rodríguez (Mexico) by Johannes S. Nilsson (Sweden)
Directors' Fortnight The following films were screened for the 1996 Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalizateurs):
by Gaël Morel Beautiful Thing by Hettie MacDonald A Chef in Love by Nana Djordjadze by Yvon Marciano by Jorge Ali Triana Encore by Pascal Bonitzer Flame by Ingrid Sinclair Vaska Easoff () by Peter Gothar Inside by Arthur Penn Youth Without God () by Catherine Corsini Jude by Michael Winterbottom Kids Return by Takeshi Kitano Prisoner of the Mountains () by Sergei Bodrov by Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne Lone Star by John Sayles by José Laplaine by Judit Elek Perfect Love () by Catherine Breillat by Daniel Calparsoro by Merzak Allouache by Laurent Bouhnik Trees Lounge by Steve Buscemi White Night () by Arnon Zadok Will It Snow for Christmas? () by Sandrine Veysset
Short films
by Siegfried (18 min.) by Bénédicte Brunet (15 min.) by Bruno Bontzolakis (25 min.) by Sylvain Labrosse (15 min.)
Official Awards
In Competition : Secrets & Lies by Mike Leigh Grand Prix: Breaking the Waves by Lars von Trier Best Director: Joel Coen for Fargo Best Screenplay: A Self-Made Hero by Jacques Audiard and Alain Le Henry Best Actress: Brenda Blethyn for Secrets & Lies Best Actor: Daniel Auteuil and Pascal Duquenne for The Eighth Day Jury Special Prize: Crash by David Cronenberg
Caméra d'Or Love Serenade by Shirley Barrett
Short Film Palme d'Or by Marcell Iványi Jury Prize: Small Deaths by Lynne Ramsay
Independent Awards
FIPRESCI Prizes Secrets & Lies by Mike Leigh (In competition) Prisoner of the Mountains by Sergei Bodrov (Directors' Fortnight) The Mail & The Ferry by Laila Pakalnina (Un Certain Regard)
Commission Supérieure Technique Technical Grand Prize: The whole technical team for Microcosmos
Prize of the Ecumenical Jury Secrets & Lies by Mike Leigh Special Mention: A Drifting Life by Lin Cheng-sheng Drifting Clouds by Aki Kaurismäki
Award of the Youth Foreign Film: White Night by Arnon Zadok French Film: by Jean-Pierre Améris
International Critics' Week Mercedes-Benz Award: by Jean-Pierre Améris Canal+ Award: Planet Man by Andrew Bancroft
Award the First Multimedia Day at the 49th Cannes Film festival Best Cyber Poster Award: The Visionary by Beny Tchaicovsky
References
Media INA: Opening of the 1996 Festival (commentary in French) INA: List of winners of the 1996 festival (commentary in French)
External links
Cannes Film Festival Awards for 1996 at Internet Movie Database