Curtains close on Cannes 2024

The 77th Cannes Film Festival concluded yesterday, leaving behind a trail of scintillating premieres, captivating performances, and the award-season buzz.

This year's edition offered a diverse feast for cinephiles — from projects by established cinematic titans to the works of burgeoning talents.

The Cannes Film Festival-2024 official competition's nine-member jury was distinguishably led by revered American filmmaker Greta Gerwig as president.

The closing, like the opening, was hosted by French actress Camille Cottin.

Seasoned visionaries like Francis Ford Coppola for "Megalopolis" and David Cronenberg for "The Shrouds" returned to this year's festival with their highly-anticipated projects. Bringing their signature styles to the festival, European powerhouses Jacques Audiard and Yorgos Lanthimos attended the festival for their films "Emilia Perez" and "Kinds of Kindness" respectively.

Global auteurs Jia Zhangke from China and Payal Kapadia from India presented their unique perspectives through "Caught by the Tides" and "All We Imagine as Light".

Sean Baker with "Anora" and Paul Schrader with "Oh Canada" showcased the robust American indie presence, while emerging talents Andrea Arnold with "Bird" and Coralie Fargeat with "The Substance" pushed boundaries through their works.

In terms of the Un Certain Regard honours, Chinese director Guan Hu's film "Black Dog" triumphed over 17 other titles to win the top prize in the festival's second-most prestigious competitive category.

"The Story of Souleymane" won the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize. The film by Boris Lojkine follows an African immigrant in Paris navigating the challenges of getting work and legal status. Lead actor Abou Sangare received the Best Actor award for his performance.

Anasuya Sengupta made history by being the first Indian actress to clinch the Cannes Best Actress Award for her role in "The Shameless". Directed and written by Bulgarian filmmaker Konstantin Bojanov, the film follows Renuka, who flees a Delhi brothel after killing a police officer.

Roberto Minervini for "The Damned" and Rungano Nyoni for "On Becoming a Guinea Fowl" tied for the Best Director title.

Filmmaker Louise Courvoisier was awarded with the Prix de la Jeunesse (Youth Prize) for "Holy Cow", while Tawfik Alzaidi was recognised and given special mention for "Norah".

Apart from films, documentaries fared well at the festival.

"Lost City Symphony", a restoration project of a silent era masterpiece, fascinated audiences with its journey of rediscovering a forgotten film, while "Voices from the Border", by a collection of filmmakers, illuminated the human cost of political strife.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Rasoulof attended the festival in French Riviera town for the premiere of his film "The Seed of the Sacred Fig", almost two weeks after announcing that he fled Iran and went into exile as the Iranian government sentenced him to eight years in jail and flogging.

With the end of this year's successful edition begins the wait for film connoisseurs across the world for yet another period of cinematic greatness.