At the 76th Cannes Film Festival, Koji Yakusho, the Japanese actor, earned the Best Actor award for his performance in Perfect Days, a film directed by Wim Wenders from Germany. The ceremony highlighted Yakusho’s portrayal of a Tokyo toilet cleaner, a role that resonated with critics for its quiet intensity and observational humor. In the same ceremony, Merve Dizdar of Turkey received the Best Actress honor for her work in About Dry Grasses, the Turkish feature written and directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan. The recognition underscored Dizdar’s compelling screen presence and the film’s contemplative meditation on memory and place in a changing landscape. [Citation: Variety, Cannes 76th awards coverage]
Further notes from the festival outlined the Un Certain Regard prize, awarded to How to Have Sex, the first feature by British director and cinematographer Molly Manning Walker. The film follows three schoolgirls on a vacation to Greece, and its award marks a notable early triumph in Walker’s directing career. Reports indicated that the distribution plan for the film in Russia would proceed through the networks of A-One and Russian World Vision, signaling a broader international rollout despite regional media environments. [Citation: Variety, Un Certain Regard prize notice]
Additional context surrounding the Cannes premiere lineup highlighted the variety of perspectives showcased this year. Journalists and industry observers noted a slate of premieres that signaled ongoing trends in contemporary world cinema, including intimate character studies, generational portraits, and films with a sharp eye for social texture. The festival’s finales drew attention to how these works travel to screens around the globe, including forthcoming screenings in Russian cinemas and other markets. [Citation: Variety, Cannes 76th recap]
Readers looking for deeper coverage of the festival’s main premieres can follow subsequent updates on the festival’s ongoing program, including film-by-film analyses, curator perspectives, and audience reactions as the event entered its final days. Industry commentators emphasized how the winners and the out-of-competition titles together map the evolving language of cinema, with attention to directorial voice, performance chemistry, and the ways in which international collaborations shape future releases in markets across North America. [Citation: Variety, post-festival overview]