The 65th Cannes Film Festival took place from 16 to 27 May 2012. Italian filmmaker Nanni Moretti was the president of the jury for the main competition. Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke won the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, for the drama film Amour.
The official poster of the festival features Marilyn Monroe, to mark the 50th anniversary of her death. French actress Bérénice Bejo hosted the opening and closing ceremonies.
The festival opened with Moonrise Kingdom by Wes Anderson, and the closed with Thérèse Desqueyroux by Claude Miller.
Juries Μain competition
The following people were appointed as the Jury for the feature films of the 2012 Official Selection: Nanni Moretti, Italian filmmaker – Jury President Hiam Abbass, Palestinian actress and director Andrea Arnold, English filmmaker Emmanuelle Devos, French actress Jean Paul Gaultier, French fashion designer Diane Kruger, German actress Ewan McGregor, Scottish actor Alexander Payne, American filmmaker Raoul Peck, Haitian filmmaker
Tim Roth, British actor – Jury President Leïla Bekhti, French actress Tonie Marshall, French actress and filmmaker Luciano Monteagudo, Argentine film critic Sylvie Pras, French director of the Pompidou Centre and Festival de la Fiction at La Rochelle
Caméra d'Or Carlos Diegues, Brazilian filmmaker – Jury President Michel Andrieu, French filmmaker Rémy Chevrin, French cinematographer Francis Gavelle, French film critic Hervé Icovic, French art director Gloria Satta, Italian film journalist
and short films Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Belgian filmmaker – Jury President Karim Aïnouz, Brazilian filmmaker Emmanuel Carrère, French novelist and filmmaker Arsinée Khanjian, Canadian actress Yu Lik-wai, Chinese cinematographer and director
Independent juries The following independent juries awarded films in the frame of the Critics' Week.
Nespresso Grand Prize Bertrand Bonello, French filmmaker – Jury President Francisco Ferreira, Portuguese film critic Akiko Kobari, Japanese film and dance critic Robert Koehler, American film critic Hanns-Georg Rodek, German film critic
France 4 Visionary Award Céline Sciamma, French filmmaker – Jury President Victor-Emmanuel Boinem, Belgian film student and blogger Ryan Lattanzio, American student and lead film critic at The Daily Californian Bikas Mishra, Indian founder and editor of DearCinema.com Kim Seehe, South Korean student and film critic
Nikon Discovery Award for Short Film João Pedro Rodrigues, Portuguese film director – Jury President Jakub Felcman, Czech film curator Marianne Khoury, Egyptian film director and producer Danny Lennon, Canadian film curator Kleber Mendonça Filho, Brazilian film director, curator, and critic
Official Selection The official selection was announced on 19 April at Grand Hôtel in Paris. Among comments after the announcement, journalists noted the unusually high number of Hollywood films in the line-up, the absence of any female director in the main competition, as well as the absence of competing first-time feature film directors. The festival's artistic leader Thierry Frémaux responded that people should not focus only on the competition films: "The selection is an ensemble; you have to consider the whole package."
In Competition The following feature films competed for the Palme d'Or:
English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country After the Battle بعد الموقعة Yousry Nasrallah Egypt, France The Angels' Share Ken Loach United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Italy Beyond the Hills Cristian Mungiu Romania, France, Belgium Cosmopolis David Cronenberg Canada, France, Italy, Portugal Holy Motors Leos Carax France, Germany The Hunt Jagten Thomas Vinterberg Denmark, Sweden In Another Country Hong Sang-soo South Korea In the Fog В тумане Sergei Loznitsa Belarus, Germany, Russia, Latvia, Netherlands, United States Killing Them Softly Andrew Dominik United States Lawless John Hillcoat Like Someone in Love Abbas Kiarostami France, Japan Amour Michael Haneke France, Germany, Austria Moonrise Kingdom (opening film) Wes Anderson United States Mud Jeff Nichols On the Road Walter Salles France, Brazil, United Kingdom, United States, Mexico, Canada The Paperboy Lee Daniels United States Paradise: Love Ulrich Seidl Austria, Germany, France Post Tenebras Lux Carlos Reygadas Mexico, France, Germany, Netherlands Reality Matteo Garrone Italy, France Rust and Bone Jacques Audiard France, Belgium The Taste of Money Im Sang-soo South Korea You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet! Alain Resnais France, Germany (CdO) indicates film eligible for the Caméra d'Or as directorial debut feature.
The following films were screened in the Un Certain Regard section:
English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country 11/25 The Day Mishima Chose His Own Fate Kōji Wakamatsu Japan 7 Days in Havana Julio Médem, Laurent Cantet, Juan Carlos Tabío, Benicio del Toro, Gaspar Noé, Pablo Trapero and Elia Suleiman Cuba, Spain, France After Lucia Después de Lucía Michel Franco Mexico Antiviral (CdO) Brandon Cronenberg Canada, France Beasts of the Southern Wild (CdO) Benh Zeitlin United States Children of Sarajevo Djeca Aida Begić Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, France, Turkey Confession of a Child of the Century Sylvie Verheyde France, Germany, United Kingdom Gimme the Loot (CdO) Adam Leon United States Horses of God يا خيل الله Nabil Ayouch Morocco, Belgium Le grand soir Benoît Delépine and Gustave Kervern France, Belgium Laurence Anyways Xavier Dolan Canada Miss Lovely (CdO) Ashim Ahluwalia India Mystery Lou Ye China Our Children Joachim Lafosse Belgium, France The Pirogue La Pirogue Moussa Toure Senegal La Playa D.C. (CdO) La Playa Juan Andrés Arango Colombia, France, Brazil Renoir Gilles Bourdos France Student Darezhan Omirbaev Kazakhstan Three Worlds Catherine Corsini France White Elephant Pablo Trapero Argentina, Spain, France (CdO) indicates film eligible for the Caméra d'Or as directorial debut feature.
Out of Competition The following films were screened out of competition:
English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Cruel Summer (short film) Kanye West United States, QatarHemingway & Gellhorn Philip Kaufman United States Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, Conrad Vernon Me and You Io e te Bernardo Bertolucci ItalyThérèse Desqueyroux (closing film) Claude Miller FranceMidnight Screenings Dracula 3D Dario Argento Italy, France, SpainFor Love's Sake Takashi Miike Japan Maniac Franck Khalfoun United States, France The Sapphires (CdO) Wayne Blair Australia65th AnniversaryFilm Anniversary: A Special Day Le Film anniversaire: Une journée particulière- Histoire(s) de festival N°4 Gilles Jacob and Samuel Faure France (CdO) indicates film eligible for the Caméra d'Or as directorial debut feature.
Special Screenings The following films were screened in the Special Screenings section:
English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country The Central Park Five Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon United States Les invisibles Sébastien Lifshitz France Claudine Nougaret and Raymond Depardon Mekong Hotel Apichatpong Weerasethakul The Music According to Antonio Carlos Jobim Nelson Pereira dos Santos and Dora Jobim The Oath of Tobruk Bernard-Henri Lévy and Marc Roussel Polluting Paradise Fatih Akın Germany The Resistance Peng Zhang Li China, United States Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir Laurent Bouzereau United Kingdom, Italy, Germany Trashed Candida Brady United States Villegas (CdO) Gonzalo Tobal Argentina, Netherlands, France (CdO) indicates film eligible for the Caméra d'Or as directorial debut feature.
The Cinéfondation section focuses on films made by students at film schools. The following entries were selected, out of more than 1,700 submissions from 320 different schools:
English Title Original Title Director(s) School Abigail Matthew James Reilly NYU, United States The Ballad of Finn + Yeti Meryl O'Connor UCLA, United States The Barber Riyoushi Shoichi Akino Tokyo University of the Arts, Japan Behind Me Olive Trees Pascale Abou Jamra ALBA, Lebanon The Camp in Răzoare Cristi Iftime UNATC, Romania Could See a Puma Eduardo Williams UCINE, Argentina Dog Leash Resen Eti Tsicko TAU, Israel Head over Heels Timothy Reckart NFTS, United Kingdom The Hosts Miguel Angel Moulet EICTV, Cuba Land Terra Piero Messina CSC, Italy Matteus Leni Huyghe Sint-Lukas Brussels, Belgium The Raptures Arthur Cahn La Fémis, France The Road To Doroga na Taisia Igumentseva VGIK, Russia Slug Invasion Morten Helgeland The Animation Workshop, Denmark Tambylles Michal Hogenauer FAMU, Czech Republic
Short film Competition Out of 4,500 submissions, the following films were selected for the short film competition:
English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country The Chair Grainger David United States Cockaigne Emilie Verhamme Belgium Gasp Eicke Bettinga Germany Herd Leader Chloé Robichaud Canada My Holy Glance Alvaro Aponte-Centeno Puerto Rico Night Shift Zia Mandivwalla New Zealand Silent Sessiz-Bêdeng L. Rezan Yesilbas Turkey This Way Before Me Mohamed Bourokba France Waiting for P.O. Box Falastein, sandouk al intezar lil burtuqal Bassam Chekhes Syria Yardbird Michael Spiccia Australia
Cannes Classics The following films were screened in the Cannes Classics section. The Hungarian "montage film" Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen, directed by György Pálfi, was selected as the closing film for the Cannes Classics section. English Title Original Title Director(s) Production CountryRestored PrintsAn All-Colored Vaudeville Show (1935)Roy MackUnited StatesThe Ballad of Narayama (1958)Keisuke KinoshitaJapanCleo from 5 to 7 (1962)Cléo de 5 à 7Agnès VardaFrance, ItalyA Great Day in Harlem (1994)Jean BachUnited StatesThe Great Spy Chase (1964)Georges LautnerFrance, ItalyJammin' the Blues (1944) (short)Gjon MiliUnited StatesJaws (1975)Steven SpielbergJourney to Italy (1954)Roberto RosselliniItaly, FranceLawrence of Arabia (1962)David LeanUnited KingdomOnce Upon a Time in America (1984)Sergio LeoneItaly, United StatesThe Ring (1927)Alfred HitchcockUnited KingdomRunaway Train (1985)Andrei KonchalovskyUnited StatesTess (1979)Roman PolanskiFrance, United KingdomTwenty Years Later (1984)Cabra Marcado para MorrerEduardo CoutinhoBrazilXica (1976)Carlos DieguesWorld Cinema FoundationAfter the Curfew (1954)Usmar IsmailIndonesiaKalpana (1954)कल्पनाUday ShankarIndiaDocumentaries about CinemaClaude M Loves the CinemaEmmanuel BarnaultFranceFinal Cut: Ladies and GentlemenGyörgy PálfiHungaryMe and My DadKatrine BoormanUnited Kingdom, IrelandMethod to the Madness of Jerry LewisGregg BarsonUnited StatesWoody Allen: A DocumentaryRobert Weide
The Cinéma de la Plage is a part of the Official Selection of the festival. The outdoors screenings at the beach cinema of Cannes are open to the public.
English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Casino Royale (2006) Martin Campbell United Kingdom, United States, Germany, Czech Republic Diamonds Are Forever (1971) Guy Hamilton United Kingdom Dr. No (1962) Terence Young From Russia with Love (1963) Terence Young The Joker (1960) Le farceur Philippe de Broca France On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) Peter Hunt United Kingdom Project A (1982) A計劃 Jackie Chan Hong Kong Red Tails (2012) Anthony Hemingway United States
Parallel Sections Critics' Week The line-up for the Critics' Week was announced on 23 April at the section's website. The feature competition consists entirely of directorial debuts, something the section's artistic director Charles Tesson stressed was not intentional, but only the way it turned out when the submissions had been judged by quality. The following films were selected: