cannes cannes

today was the final day of the cannes film festival and the winners have been announced.

the palm d'or went to a small, low-budget romanian film called "4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days", by a young director named cristian mungiu. the film is about a young woman looking to get an abortion during the country's final days under communism. the stunned winning director was quoted saying, "this is good news for small filmmakers from small countries. you don't need a big budget and big stars to make a story that moves audiences."

here is a clip from the film:


the grand prix went to japanese director naomi kawase for "the mourning forest". the film is about a friendship between a mysterious resident at a retirement home and his caretaker.

in the parallel "un certain regard" competition, another romanian film entitled "california dreamin'" received the main prize.

other winners included julian schnabel as best director for "the diving bell and the butterfly" and gus van sant, who received the special 60th anniversary prize for his latest film "paranoid park".