The 64th Cannes Film Festival took place from 11 to 22 May 2011. American actor Robert De Niro served as the president of the jury for the main competition. American filmmaker Terrence Malick won the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, for the drama film The Tree of Life.
Italian film director Bernardo Bertolucci was presented with the Honorary Palme d'Or during the opening ceremony of the festival. The official poster for the festival featured a 1967 photo of American actress Faye Dunaway by the American director and photographer Jerry Schatzberg, who won the Palme d'Or in 1973 (then known as the "Grand Prix du Festival International du Film") for his film Scarecrow. Mélanie Laurent hosted the opening and closing ceremonies.
Jailed Iranian filmmakers Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof were honoured at the festival. Goodbye by Rasoulof and Panahi's This Is Not a Film were screened at the festival.
Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier caused controversy with comments made during Melancholia's press conference, when 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. Stating that he "understood" Adolf Hitler and admired the work of architect Albert Speer, and jokingly announced that he was a Nazi. The Cannes Film Festival organization first issued an official apology for the remarks the same day and clarified that Trier was not a Nazi or an antisemite, the following day the filmmaker was declared "persona non grata", though the film remained in competition, winning Best Actress for Kirsten Dunst.
The festival opened with Midnight in Paris by Woody Allen, and closed with Beloved by Christophe Honoré.
Juries
Main competition
The following people were appointed as the Jury for the feature films of the 2011 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
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
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 For the first time ever, four female directors were featured in the main competition: Australian filmmaker Julia Leigh, Japanese filmmaker Naomi Kawase, Scottish filmmaker Lynne Ramsay and French filmmaker Maïwenn. The following feature films competed for the : English Title Original Title Director(s) Production CountryThe Artist Michel Hazanavicius France Drive Nicolas Winding Refn United States Footnote הערת שוליים Joseph Cedar Israel Hanezu Naomi Kawase Japan Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai Takashi Miike Japan, United KingdomLe Havre Aki Kaurismäki Finland, France, Germany House of Tolerance Bertrand Bonello France The Kid with a Bike Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne Belgium, France Melancholia Lars von Trier Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany Michael (CdO) Markus Schleinzer Austria Once Upon a Time in Anatolia Nuri Bilge Ceylan Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina Pater Alain Cavalier France Polisse MaïwennThe Skin I Live In Pedro Almodóvar Spain Sleeping Beauty (CdO) Julia Leigh Australia The Source Radu Mihăileanu France, Belgium, Italy This Must Be the Place Paolo Sorrentino Italy, France, Ireland The Tree of Life Terrence Malick United States We Have a Pope Nanni Moretti Italy, France We Need to Talk About Kevin Lynne Ramsay United Kingdom, United States (CdO) indicates film eligible for the Caméra d'Or as directorial debut feature.
The following films were selected for the competition of Un Certain Regard:
English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Arirang 아리랑 Kim Ki-duk South Korea Beauty Skoonheid Oliver Hermanus South Africa Bonsai Cristián Jiménez Chile The Day He Arrives Hong Sang-soo South Korea Elena Елена Andrey Zvyagintsev Russia Goodbye Mohammad Rasoulof Iran Hard Labor (CdO) Juliana Rojas and Marco Dutra Brazil The Hunter Охотник Bakur Bakuradze Russia Loverboy Cătălin Mitulescu Romania Martha Marcy May Marlene (CdO) Sean Durkin United States The Minister Pierre Schöller France, Belgium Miss Bala Gerardo Naranjo MexicoOslo, August 31stOslo, 31. august Joachim Trier Norway Hors Satan Bruno Dumont France Restless Gus Van Sant United States The Snows of Kilimanjaro Robert Guédiguian France Stopped on Track Halt auf freier Strecke Andreas Dresen Germany Tatsumi Eric Khoo Singapore Toomelah Ivan Sen Australia Where Do We Go Now? هلق لوين؟ Nadine Labaki Lebanon, France, Egypt, Italy The Yellow Sea Na Hong-jin South Korea (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:
English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country The Beaver Jodie Foster United States, United Arab Emirates Beloved (closing film) Christophe Honoré France The Conquest La Conquête Xavier Durringer Midnight in Paris (opening film) Woody Allen United States, SpainPirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Rob Marshall United StatesMidnight ScreeningsBollywood: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Jeff Zimbalist India Days of Grace (CdO) Dias de gracia Everardo Gout Mexico Dragon Peter Chan Hong Kong, China (CdO) indicates film eligible for the Caméra d'Or as directorial debut feature.
Special Screenings The following films were shown as special screenings.
English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country 18 Days 18 يوم Ahmad Abdallah, Mariam Abou Ouf, Kamla Abu Zikri, Ahmed Alaa, Mohamed Ali, Sherif Arafa, Sherif El Bendary, Marwan Hamed, Khaled Marei and Yousry Nasralla Egypt The Big Fix Rebecca Tickell and Josh Tickell United States Duch, Master of the Forges of Hell Rithy Panh France Leader-Sheep Christian Rouaud Michel Petrucciani Michael Radford No More Fear (CdO) La khaoufa baada al'yaoum Mourad Ben Cheikh Tunisia Out of Bounds (CdO) Labrador Frederikke Aspöck Denmark The Postman Al-Bostagui Hussein Kamal EgyptThis Is Not a FilmJafar Panahi and Mojtaba MirtahmasbIran (CdO) indicates film eligible for the Caméra d'Or as directorial debut feature.
The following films were selected to be screened in the Cinéfondation section, which focuses on short films made by students at film schools.
English Title Original Title Director(s) School The Agony and Sweat of the Human Spirit D. Jesse Damazo and Joe Bookman University of Iowa, United States Bento Monogatari Pieter Dirkx Hogeschool Sint-Lukas, Belgium Big Muddy Jefferson Moneo Columbia University, United States Cagey Tigers Aramisova FAMU, Czech Republic Changeling Maria Steinmetz HFF Konrad Wolf, Germany Drari Kamal Nazraq La Fémis, France Duel Before Nightfall Alice Furtado Universidade Federal Fluminense, Brazil Fly by Night Son Tae-gyum Chung-Ang University, South Korea The Letter Der Brief Doroteya Droumeva DFFB, Germany Martha Must Fly Al Martha lauf Ma'ayan Rypp Tel Aviv University, Israel On My Doorstep Befetach beity Anat Costi Bezalel Academy, Israel Salsipuedes Mariano Luque National University of Córdoba, Argentina Suu and Uchikawa Suu et Uchikawa Nathanael Carton NYU Asia, Singapore Till Summer Comes Pasquale Marino Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, Italy The Trip A Viagem Simão Cayatte Columbia University, United States The Wedding Party Gastón Margolin and Martín Morgenfeld Universidad del Cine, Argentina
Short films The following short films competed for the Short Film Palme d'Or:
English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Bear Nash Edgerton Australia Cold Kjøttsår Lisa Marie Gamlem Norway Cross-Country Крос Maryna Vroda France, Ukraine Ghost Dahci Ma South Korea It Is Nothing Nicolas Roy Canada Meathead Sam Holst New Zealand Paternal Womb Megumi Tazaki Japan Vladimir Durán Argentina Swimsuit 46 Badpakje 46 Wannes Destoop Belgium
Cannes Classics The following films were selected to be screened:
English Title Original Title Director(s) Production CountryTributes A Bronx Tale (1993) Robert De Niro United States A Clockwork Orange (1971) Stanley Kubrick United Kingdom, United States The Conformist (1970) Bernardo Bertolucci Italy Molly Moly Kane Senegal Puzzle of a Downfall Child (1970) Jerry Schatzberg United States Sugar Cane Alley (1983) Euzhan Palcy France A Trip to the Moon (1902) Georges Méliès Documentaries about Cinema Vincent Perrot France Corman's World: Exploits Of A Hollywood Rebel (CdO) Alex Stapleton United States Kurosawa's Way Catherine Cadou France The Look Angelina Maccarone Germany, France Once Upon a Time... A Clockwork Orange Antoine de Gaudemar FranceRestored Prints The Assassin (1961) L’assassino Elio Petri Italy Children of Paradise (1945) Marcel Carné France Chronicle of a Summer (1960) Jean Rouch and Edgar Morin Despair (1978) Rainer Werner Fassbinder West Germany No Man's Land (1931) Niemandsland Victor Trivas Germany Le Sauvage (1975) Jean-Paul Rappeneau France The Machine to Kill Bad People (1952) Roberto Rossellini ItalyWorld Cinema Foundation The Law of the Border (1966) Ömer Lütfi Akad Turkey
The Cinéma de la Plage is a part of the Official Selection of the festival: English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country And the Ship Sails On (1984) Federico Fellini Italy, France Ant Scream (2011) Sameh Abdel Aziz Egypt Das Boot: Directors Cut (1981) Wolfgang Petersen West Germany The Caine Mutiny (1954) Edward Dmytryk United States Greed in the Sun (1965) 100.000 dollars au soleil Henri Verneuil France, Italy The Man from Acapulco (1973) Philippe de Broca A Night To Remember (1958) Roy Ward Baker United Kingdom (2011, a series of shorts) Isabelle Putod France Winter Frog (2011) Slony Sow
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.