The Un Certain Regard section, which is the second biggest part of the Cannes Film Festival, was the place where the biggest surprise of the year happened. Jordan Firstman's first movie, "Club Kid," got huge praise on the first Friday of the festival and was bought for $17 million by A24 in a big bidding war, which is the biggest sale so far at the festival.
The film got a lot of good reviews, including from Variety's chief critic Guy Lodge, who said it was a "sweet, surprisingly old-fashioned heartwarmer."
But even though it was well received, Firstman didn't win any awards, leaving with lots of money but no awards.
The biggest winner of the night was Sandra Wollner's "Everytime," a touching story about grief that shows a mother, daughter, and a teenage boy coming together in a tragedy.
Wollner thanked her team, many of whom were also writers and directors, and said she wanted to keep those "quirky and weird thoughts" that usually get ignored, hoping they might stay with people longer.
Other winners included Abinash Bikram Shah's "Elephants in the Fog," the first Nepali film in the Un Certain Regard section, and Louis Clichy's hand-painted animated film "Iron Boy," which was bought by Sony Pictures Classics for several regions.
Both films were reviewed by Variety critic Siddhant Adlakha, who praised them as "visually dazzling and deeply personal."
The "Elephants in the Fog" team brought a party to the stage when many of the film's creators started dancing around Cannes director Thierry Frémaux.
Director Bikram Shah said that cinema has the power to look into the shadows and that bringing their story to the festival and getting this award made the invisible visible.
The UCR jury also gave awards for acting.
The three women in Valentina Maurel's "Forever Your Maternal Animal" — Daniela Marín Navarro, Marina de Tavira, and Mariangel Villegas — and Bradley Fiomona Dembeasset in Rafiki Fariala's "Congo Boy" were recognized. "Forever Your Maternal Animal" was Costa Rica's first film in Un Certain Regard, and Maurel hoped that its selection signaled more space for Latin American filmmakers, especially female directors, at major festivals.
Fiomona Dembeasset impressed the audience with his energetic speech at the Debussy screening room.
He ended his heartfelt acceptance speech, delivered in song, with a strong declaration: "I am a young Congolese! I am a refugee! I am a star!"
This year's Un Certain Regard jury was led by French actress Leila Bekhti, who became famous through Jacques Audiard's Cannes Grand Prize-winning film "A Prophet.
" She was joined by French director Thomas Cailley, whose film "Animal Kingdom" opened the UCR section in 2023, plus Senegalese producer Angele Diabang, Italian director Laura Samani, and Lebanese composer Khaled Mouzanar.
Full list of winners:
Prix Un Certain Regard: “Everytime,” by Sandra Wollner
Jury Prize: “Elephants in the Fog,” by Abinash Bikram Shah
Special Jury Prize: “Iron Boy,” directed by Louis Clichy
Best Actress: Daniela Marín Navarro, Marina de Tavira and Mariangel Villegas for “Forever Your Maternal Animal”
Best Actor: Bradley Fiomona Dembeasset for “Congo Boy”
