Wave the White Ribbon: Haneke Gets the Gold

Against the backdrop of one of the most serious economic crises the world has ever known, the 62nd annual Cannes Film Festival has come to a close on Sunday. This year's festival was slated to be more austere than in year's past, and that prediction proved true. There were fewer journalists -- a third less by some estimates -- and a far smaller Hollywood presence: No Vanity Fair party, fewer and smaller parties, and far fewer distributors in the marché.

That said, the filmmakers chosen were some of the biggest names of auteur cinema; if there ever was an all-star year for directors in competition, 2009 was it. The heavy hitters came out in force: Quentin Tarantino, Ken Loach, Michael Haneke, Lars von Trier, Gaspar Noé, Alain Resnais, Pedro Almodóvar, and Jacques Audiard, among others.The expectation for seeing excellent films was off the charts. Unfortunately, many of the in-competition films failed to excite. But of course there were a few that stood out above the rest: A Prophet, The White Ribbon, Antichrist.

Instead of it being difficult for the jury to choose this year, the task seemed eminently manageable. Late rumors broke that jury president Isabelle Huppert was pushing the jury to give awards to more avant-garde films. Thus, here are the winners of the 62nd Cannes Film Festival.

Palme d'Or (Golden Palm): The White Ribbon dir. Michael Haneke

Grand prix (Grand Prize): A Prophet dir. Jacques Audiard

Prix du jury (Jury Prize): Fish Tank dir. Andrea Arnold and Thirst, dir. Park Chan-wook

Prix d'interprétation féminine (Best Actress): Charlotte Gainsbourg, Antichrist

Prix d'interprétation masculine (Best Actor): Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Prix du scénario (Best Screenplay): Spring Fever dir. Lou Ye

Prix de la mise en scène (Best Director): Brillante Mendoza, Kinatay

Prix exceptionnel (Special Prize): Director Alain Resnais

Caméra d'Or (Best First Feature Film): Samson and Delilah, dir. Warwick Thornton

Palme d'Or du court métrage (Best Short Film): Arena, dir. João Salaviza