Tran Anh Hung wins best director at Cannes

Tran Anh Hung was honored as Best Director for the film "La Passion de Dodin Bouffant" at the closing ceremony of Cannes 2023.

At the closing ceremony of one of the world's largest film festivals, on the evening of May 27 in Cannes (morning of May 28, Hanoi time), Tran Anh Hung expressed his gratitude to his wife: "Most of all, I would like to thank the person who has accompanied me all these years, the person who has given me her beauty and talent every day, Tran Nu Yen Khe, my wife, my chef." The Vietnamese-born director expressed his gratitude to the film crew and the two main actors Juliette Binoch and Benoît Magimel.

Tran Anh Hung received the Best Director award at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. Photo: AFP

Thirty years ago, Tran Anh Hung won the Camera d'Or (award for best debut film by a young director) with the film The Scent of Green Papaya. This year, the Vietnamese-born director returns to Cannes with La Passion de Dodin Bouffant (also known as The Pot Au Feu ), which revolves around the love story between chef Eugenie (Juliette Binoche) and gourmet Dodin Bouffant (Benoît Magimel). The film is adapted from the novel The Life and Passion of Dodin-Bouffant, Gourmet (1924) by Marcel Rouff.

Their relationship develops well, helping to create delicious dishes that impress the world's most famous chefs. The two main characters fall in love based on equality, admiration and respect. Their close relationship is somewhat reminiscent of the real-life love story between the director and his wife Yen Khe.

Tran Anh Hung speaks when he won the Best Director award at the 76th Cannes Film Festival on the evening of May 27. Video : Brut

La Passion de Dodin Bouffant received a seven-minute standing ovation at its premiere on the evening of May 24, and was praised by critics. Deadline commented that the film has a unique way of telling a story, successfully honoring the senses in the culinary experience. The Guardian praised the film for its many beautiful scenes, exuding charm and sophistication. The Hollywood Reporter highly appreciated the acting of the main actors.

Tran Anh Hung, 61, studied at the prestigious École Louis-Lumière (France). His film The Scent of Green Papaya won the Caméra d'Or award at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Oscar in the category of Best Foreign Language Film. In 1998, the artist was President of the Caméra d'Or award at the 51st Cannes. In 1995, the director won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival with Cyclo . Before Cannes 2023, his most recent film was Eternité (Eternity), released in 2016.

In order to spread the love of cinema to young filmmakers in Vietnam, the artist participates in teaching courses within the framework of the Autumn Meeting program.

In addition to Tran Anh Hung, the Camera d'Or award for debut film went to Doan Pham Thien An - director of Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell - the only Vietnamese film shown at this year's festival. At the press conference after the event, Thien An said: "The crew has traveled a long way to get to Cannes. This award is so big for me. I can't wait to meet the film crew to share this joy. This is the motivation for me to dedicate myself to cinema."

Director Pham Thien An speaks at the film festival after winning the Camera d'or award for his film Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell. Photo: AFP

In addition, the festival's Palme d'Or was awarded to director Justine Triet for her work Anatomy of a Fall . She is the third female director to win Cannes' most important prize (after Jane Campion for The Piano (1993) and the director of Titane (2021), Julia Ducournau). The film tells the story of a novelist (Sandra Hüller) accused of murdering her husband. Their son, who is blind, is the only witness to the crime.

86-year-old actress Janes Fonda presented the award to Triet. "The first time I came here was in 1963, the festival was smaller then. There were no women directors in the competition at that time. We filmmakers have come a long way, but there is still a long way to go."

According to the Guardian , in his acceptance speech, the French director thanked the film crew, after which Triet criticized the government's commercialization of culture, targeting cultural and artistic priorities, which were once part of the national heritage.

Director Justine Triet (right) receives the Palme d'Or award at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. Photo: AFP

British director Jonathan Glazer won the Grand Prix for The Zone of Interest , an adaptation of Martin Amis' novel about the anxieties of a Nazi family living near the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland at the end of World War II. "This is an honour beyond my reach," the director said. "I wanted to pay tribute to Martin Amis, and I'm glad I got to show this film in tribute to him."

The Best Actor award went to Japanese actor Koji Yakusho, for his role as a toilet cleaner in German director Wim Wenders' Perfect Days . Merve Dizdar, star of Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan's About Dry Grasses , won Best Actress. The Guardian said Dizdar had impressed many critics with her role as Nuray, a schoolteacher in a rural area.

Presenting the special jury prize, British actor Orlando Bloom said the value of cinema lies in its ability to bridge differences. Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki won for Fallen Leaves , which stars Alma Pöysti as a lonely supermarket worker who meets an adventurous alcoholic construction worker.

The Best Screenplay award went to Japanese screenwriter Sakamoto Yuji for Monster (directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda ). The film tells the story of single mother Saori (Sakura Ando) who suspects something is wrong at her son Minato's (Soya Kurokawa) school when he starts behaving strangely.

The 76th Cannes Film Festival takes place from May 16 to 27. This year, Iris Knobloch is the festival's president, and last year's Palme d'Or winner Ruben Östlund is the jury president. Over the course of 11 days, the film event brings together stars from around the world, red carpets, film screenings, and networking events, creating a vibrant Cannes season after the hiatus due to Covid-19.

In addition to being broadcast on two French television stations, the Cannes closing ceremony was streamed live on YouTube. The awards ceremony lasted one hour and 20 minutes, including speeches from the presenters and winners. The directors and actors gave in-depth comments, expressing gratitude to the crew. Some artists also had time to express their views on filmmaking style and creative inspiration.