From Palme d'Or to Grand Prix, see who won the top prizes at the Cannes Film Festival 2016

With an overwhelming amount of attention focused on the celebrity attendees, sometimes, it’s easy to forget that the Cannes Film Festival is not just about the red carpet, but also about quality global cinema. But as the top prizes were announced at the closing of the Cannes Film Festival 2016, drawing the curtains closed on 11-day extravaganza, the spotlight was back — and firmly — on movies. [caption id=“attachment_2794530” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  ‘Personal Shopper’ starring Kristen Stewart got filmmaker Oliver Assayas the ‘Best Director’ nod[/caption] The most prestigious prize of all — the Palme d’Or — was conferred on Ken Loach for his film I, Daniel Blake. I, Daniel Blake is an indictment of the austerity/state welfare policies in Britain, and tells the story of an elderly man who has to stop working after suffering a heart attack, but loses his welfare benefits as well. Xavier Dolan’s Juste La Fin Du Monde (It’s Only The End of the World) — about a writer who returns home to his estranged family after several years, to tell them that he is dying — won the Grand Prix. [caption id=“attachment_2794538” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Xavier Dolan’s ‘It’s Only The End of The World’ took home the Grand Prix[/caption] There had been a lot of buzz around Oliver Assayas’ Personal Shopper, the second time the filmmaker had teamed up with Kristen Stewart. While the film did not win Stewart the Best Actress prize, it did get Assayas the Best Director nod. On the other hand, The Salesman, by Asghar Farhadi, got the Best Screenplay nod, and Shahab Hosseini the Best Actor honour. Jaclyn Jose in Ma’Rosa was named Best Actress. Another major winner was American Honey, which brought its director Andrea Arnold the jury prize. [caption id=“attachment_2794542” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  A still from ‘American Honey’ which won the Jury Prize[/caption] See the full list of winners here.