The 2019 Queer Palm, which has distinguished a work of various selections for its treatment of LGBT themes at the Cannes Film Festival since 2010, was awarded Friday night to feature film Portrait of the girl on fire Céline Sciamma, who modestly tells a story of forbidden love between two women with opposite destinies, in an 18th century corseté.
A "big movie"
"The film we chose to reward (...) is not just a lesbian story but, first and foremost, a great movie", justified the jury chaired by the actress Virginie Ledoyen and composed of the director Claire Duguet, actress and singer Kee-Yoon Kim, directors Marcio Reolon and Filipe Matzembacher, in a text published by the organizers.
"The jury was impressed by the artistic mastery of the filmmaker and by the way she looks at the artistic creation, the burning heart of this film, and we were also moved by the sorority that inhabits this work. destiny of the characters to work with the actresses and even in the technical and artistic team, "they added.
A "magnificent" film for Xavier Dolan
This is the first time in ten editions that the Queer Palm is awarded to a woman. In the running for the Palme d'Or, Portrait of the girl on fire also scored Xavier Dolan, also competing for Matthias and Maxime . The film "is beautiful," he wrote on Instagram. He "pursued me while I slept, woke up remembering how much (...) he impressed me."
Created by critic Franck Finance-Madureira, the Queer Palm is the equivalent in Cannes of the Teddy Awards awarded during the Berlinale. The 2019 jury also awarded the Queer Palm short film to the Greek Vasilis Kekatos for The Distance Between Heaven and Us .