Cannes: Ruben Östlund wins second Palme d’Or

Ruben Östlund won his second Palme d'Or for his film "Triangle of Sadness," bringing the 75th Festival de Cannes to a close on Saturday.

The sharp satire about class conflict earned Östlund one of cinema's most prestigious prizes for the second time, having already taken it in 2017 with "The Square."

"Triangle of Sadness" contained an extended sequence of projectile vomiting and violent diarrhea on the ship that quickly became the talk of the festival after its premiere last week.

"We wanted after the screening [for people] to go out together and have something to talk about," Östlund said after accepting his award.

"All of us agree that the unique thing with cinema is that we're watching together. So we have to save something to talk about but we should also have fun and be entertained," he added.

'Close' and 'Stars at Noon' win Grand Prix 

The Grand Prix was shared between Lukas Dhont's tender boyhood drama "Close" and director Claire Denis' film "Stars at Noon."

"Close" is a tender portrait of two boys facing bullying as they learn to grapple with their budding sexuality, while Denis won for "Stars at Noon," a love story set against political tensions in Central America.

The award for best director went to South Korea's Park Chan Wook for "Decision to Leave."

Best actress honors went to Iranian Zar Amir-Ebrahimi, who was forced to flee her country 16 years ago following a smear campaign about her love life.    

"I have came a long way to be on this stage tonight. It was not an easy story," Ebrahimi, who now lives in Paris, said.

She played a journalist tracking down a serial killer who is murdering prostitutes in the holy city of Mashhad in Iran. "Holy Spider" was filmed in Jordan after Iranian authorities denied permission for the movie to be made there.

"This film is about women, it's about their bodies, it's a movie full of faces, hair, hands, feet, breasts, sex — everything that is impossible to show in Iran," Ebrahimi said.

Korean star Song Kang Ho named best actor

Korean star Song Kang Ho was named best actor for his performance in "Broker" by Kore-Eda Hirokazu.

"I'd like to thank all those who appreciate Korean cinema," said Song, who also starred in Bong Joon Ho's Palme d'Or winning film "Parasite" in Cannes three years ago.

The Cannes Jury Prize was awarded to "The Eight Mountains," by Charlotte Vandermeersch and Felix Van Groeningen, and shared by Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski's "EO," about a donkey's journey across a pitiless modern Europe.

"I would like to thank my donkeys," said Skolimowski, who used six donkeys while making the film.

Swede Tarik Saleh won best screenplay for his film "Boy from Heaven."

Cannes' festive glamour clashes with reality

The war in Ukraine cast a shadow over proceedings from the start of the festival. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke at the opening ceremony, telling the room of filmmakers and journalists "it is necessary for cinema not to be silent" and that Ukraine "will win this war."

Several Ukrainian films received special screenings, and there was bitter debate over the inclusion of Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov in the main competition, despite his condemnation of the war.

This year, the biggest Hollywood films at Cannes "Elvis," "Top Gun: Maverick," "Three Thousand Years of Longing" played outside Cannes' competition lineup of 21 films. But their presence helped restore some of Cannes' glamour after the COVID-19 pandemic scaled-down the festival for the last two years.

At the "Top Gun: Maverick" premiere, a squadron of French fighter jets roared over the red carpet, a thunderous advertisement for the Hollywood action movie

lo/wd (AFP, AP, dpa)