Cannes winner tells refugees’ story

DIRECTOR Jacques Audiard (center), holding the Palme d’Or award, shares the stage with “Dheepan” actors Jesuthasan Antonythasan (right) and Kalieaswari Srinivasan. AP

CANNES, France—The 68th Cannes Film Festival was brought to a surprising close on Sunday with Jacques Audiard’s Sri Lankan refugee drama winning the coveted Palme d’Or.

The choice of “Dheepan,” picked by a jury led by filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen, left some critics scratching their heads.

The French director, whose previous films “A Prophet” and “Rust and Bone” were acclaimed, disappointed some critics with his Cannes winner.

“Dheepan” is about a trio of Sri Lankans who pretend to be a family in order to flee their war-torn country, settling in a violent housing project near Paris.

“This isn’t a jury of film critics,” Joel Coen said after the ceremony. “This is a jury of artists who are looking at the work.”

The win for “Dheepan” comes at a time when Europe is particularly attuned to the experience of immigrants, following the recent deaths of hundreds crossing the Mediterranean, seeking Italian shores. Jury members, though, said “Dheepan” was chosen for its overall strength as a film, rather than any topicality.

“We all thought it was a very beautiful movie,” said Ethan Coen, describing the decision as “swift.”

Former child soldier

Audiard accepted the award with warm gratitude, bowing to the jury at the Palais. He was joined by the film’s pretend parents: Kalieaswari Srinivasan and Jesuthasan Antonythasan, a novelist who himself was a Tamil Tiger child soldier before seeking political asylum in France.

The runner-up prize, the Grand Prix, went to “Son of Saul,” a grim Holocaust drama by first-time Hungarian director László Nemes.

English actress Sienna Miller, a jury member, sounded moved by “Son of Saul.” She hailed it as “breathtaking.”

Hou Hsiao-Hsien, the masterful68-year-old Taiwanese filmmaker, won best director for his first feature in eight years: “The Assassin,” a lush martial arts drama.