Cannes Critics’ Week: ‘Feathers’ Takes Grand Prize – Full Winners List

Nancy Tartaglione
·2 min read

Prizes are beginning to roll in here at the Cannes Film Festival ahead of the main closing ceremony on Saturday night. Parallel section Critics’ Week, celebrating its 60th edition, is up first with Egyptian filmmaker Omar El Zohairi’s Feathers awarded the Nespresso Grand Prize. The surrealist story sees a magic trick gone awry at a children’s birthday party with the authoritative father of the family turned into a chicken. Critics’ Week is devoted to first and second features, and Feathers, as a debut feature, is also eligible for the Camera d’Or (which will be announced on Saturday during the main awards ceremony).

Former Palme d’Or winner Cristian Mungui chaired the Critics’ Week jury for its 60th anniversary this year. The panel also awarded the Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award to Sandra Melissa Torres in Amparo by Simón Mesa Soto. She plays a single mother struggling to free her teenage son after he is drafted by the army and assigned to a war zone.

More from Deadline

The Gan Foundation Award for Distribution was awarded to the French distributor Condor for Rien A Foutre (Zero Fucks Given) by Julie Lecoustre and Emmanuel Marre. And the SACD Award, handed out by France’s equivalent to the Writers Guild, went to Elie Grappe and Raphaëlle Desplechin for Olga about a 15-year-old Ukrainian gymnast exiled in Switzerland who is working to secure a place at the country’s National Sports Center when the Euromaiden revolt breaks out.

Here’s the full list of winners:

Prizes of the Jury

Nespresso Grand Prize
Feathers, dir: Omar El Zohairi

Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award
Sandra Melissa Torres in Amparo

Leitz Cine Discovery Prize for Short Film
Duo Li (Lili Alone), dir: Zou Jing

Partner Prizes

Gan Foundation Award for Distribution
Condor (Rien A Foutre)

SACD Prize
Elie Grappe and Raphaëlle Desplechin for Olga

Canal+ Award for Short Film
Brutalia, Days of Labour, dir: Manolis Mavris

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.