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Snowpiercer Director Bong Joon-ho's Parasite Wins Cannes' Palme d'Or

Plus, Tarantino's Hollywood shut out as actress-turned-director Mati Diop makes more history with Atlantique.

by Jacqueline Coley | May 25, 2019 | Comments

(Photo by Dominique Charriau/WireImage)

The 72nd Cannes Film Festival is in the books and though Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood (2019) 86% was the toast of the Riviera, the Pulp Fiction director was shut out from all of the final night’s major awards. This year’s jury was led by the Jury President and Birdman director Alejandro González Iñárritu and included actress Elle Fanning (Teen Spirit), and directors Pawel Pawęska (Cold War) and Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite); the group picked a surprising selection of varied work from famed directors and dynamic newcomers.

Most of the night’s prizes were given to films that championed the poor, marginalized, and unsung, including Snowpiercer and Okja director Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite (2019) 99%, which took home the festival’s biggest prize, the Palme d’Or. French actress turned director Mati Diop continued to make history as the first Black female director to take home the Grand Prix, the festival’s second most prestigious prize, for her debut film Atlantics (2019) 96%. (Diop already made history by being the first Black woman to compete for the Palme d’Or in the festival’s 72-year history.) You can read the full list of winners of the Competition section below, and if you’re curious about what films debuted at the festival, and how they fared on the Tomatometer, check out our Cannes Scorecard.