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Parasite star Song Kang-ho, Riley Keough win big at 2022 Cannes awards

The most prestigious film festival in the world has anointed a new crop of winners — and potential awards contenders as the 2022 Oscars race takes shape.

Headed by French actor and Titane star Vincent Lindon, the Cannes jury named Ruben Östlund's Triangle of Sadness as the recipient of the festival's coveted Palme d'Or, often considered to be the most esteemed prize in global cinema. This marks Östlund's second Palme win of his career, following his victory for 2017's The Square.

Outside the main competition, actress Riley Keough won the Best First Film award for her directorial debut, War Pony, which was presented to her and co-director Gina Gammell by Spanish star Rossy de Palma at the same festival that hosted the world premiere of Baz Luhrmann's Elvis biopic about Keough's grandfather.

"It was a very emotional experience. It's very intense to watch when it's your family," Keough said of seeing the film with her mother, Lisa Marie Presley, and grandmother, Priscilla Presley. "It wasn't like I distrusted Baz in any way, but you're protective over your family."

Elvis Presley's granddaughter Riley Keough; Austin Butler as Elvis in 'Elvis'
Elvis Presley's granddaughter Riley Keough; Austin Butler as Elvis in 'Elvis'

David Fisher/Shutterstock; Warner Bros. Pictures Elvis Presley's granddaughter Riley Keough; Austin Butler as Elvis in 'Elvis'

Among the winning performers, Korean Parasite star Song Kang-ho snagged the Cannes award for Best Actor for his performance in Broker, and Zar Amir-Ebrahimi won Best Actress for her work in Holy Spider.

Other jury members deciding this year's winners were actress and Passing director Rebecca Hall, two-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, director Joachim Trier, screenwriter-director Jeff Nichols, actress Deepika Padukone, Italian performer Jasmine Trinca, and Swedish star Noomi Rapace.

Cannes has long ushered at least one major awards contender into the Oscars race, and cemented various international movies as must-see titles for the global film community regardless of their status in the hunt for Academy gold.

Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Pedro Almodóvar's Pain and Glory, and Bong Joon-ho's Best Picture–winning Parasite got their start with critics and audiences at the 2019 festival, before the coronavirus pandemic led to the postponement of the 2020 edition. After a muted affair for Cannes later that year, the festival rebounded to launch Ryusuke Hamaguchi's Drive My Car and Trier's The Worst Person in the World into the 2021 Oscars race.

Recent performers who've won Cannes acting awards before breaking into the Academy Awards race include Rooney Mara (Carol), Antonio Banderas (Pain and Glory), Bruce Dern (Nebraska), and Jean Dujardin (The Artist).

Broker
Broker

Cannes Film Festival 'Broker' star Song Kang-ho won Best Actor at the 2022 Cannes awards.

This year, warm receptions for films like James Gray's coming-of-age tale Armageddon Time (starring Anne Hathaway and Anthony Hopkins), Park Chan-wook's Decision to Leave, and David Cronenberg's Crimes of the Future (starring Viggo Mortensen, Léa Seydoux, and Kristen Stewart) indicate that they could be titles to watch on the trail ahead.

Other potential Oscars players that screened out of competition at Cannes include the enthusiastically received blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick and Baz Luhrmann's highly anticipated Elvis biopic starring Austin Butler and Tom Hanks.

Riley Keough attends the photocall for "War Pony" during the 75th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France.. MAY 21st 2022. Credit: Matrix/MediaPunch **FOR USA ONLY; CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 27: South Korean actor Song Kang-Ho poses during a photocall for the film Broker (Les Bonnes Etoiles) at the 75th annual Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France on May 27, 2022. (Photo by Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Matrix/MediaPunch; Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu Agency via Getty 2022 Cannes awards winners Riley Keough and Song Kang-Ho

See the list of 2022 Cannes awards winners from the main competition below. Head to the Cannes website for the complete set of winners.

Palme d'Or: Ruben Östlund, Triangle of Sadness
Grand Prix: Lukas Dhont, Close; Claire Denis, Stars at Noon — TIE
Best Director: Park Chan-wook, Decision to Leave
Best Actress: Zar Amir-Ebrahimi, Holy Spider
Best Actor: Song Kang-ho, Broker
Best Screenplay: Tarik Saleh, Boy From Heaven
Jury Prize: Félix Van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch, The Eight Mountains; Jerzy Skolimowski, EO — TIE
75th Anniversary Prize: Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne, Tori and Lokita

Check out more from EW's The Awardistfeaturing exclusive interviews, analysis, and our podcast diving into all the highlights from the year's best in TV.

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