Filipino director Brillante Mendoza, the director for the Philippines entry to the 2009 Cannes Film Festival dark movie "Kinatay" wins the Best Director award announced on May 24, 2009 (France time).
Mendoza, who is at Cannes for the second consecutive year, stated on his acceptance speech: "First of all I would like to thank the selection committee, who are responsible for bringing my films here for the past three years. And now with an award for Best Director, I would like to thank the Jury. And of course I'd like to thank my producer; thank you for the trust and faith in my films. I'd like to thank also a very committed staff and crew. I'd like to share this award with my daughter, Angelica, who has always been my number one critic and to an actor I really respect, Coco Martin. Thank you all for embracing my kind of cinema."
Mendoza further talked about Kinatay's receiving mixed reviews on a follow-up press conference, he said: "After Serbis, last year, opinion was also divided. Some critics liked it, and some didn't like it. So I'm kind of prepared, with this kind of film, that I've shown again in Cannes. Did I expect [an award]? Of course. I always hope for the best."
"Kinatay" (meaning "massacre" or "butchered" in English), which
premiered Cannes a week ago, is about corrupt cops hacking a prostitute to pieces and about a young man's first outing with these corrupt cops.
Other Asian entries who grabbed prizes are Bak-Jwi (Thirst) directed by Park Chan Wook for the Jury Prize and Mei Feng of Lou Ye's Chun Feng Chen Zui De Ye Wan (Spring Fever) for Best Screenplay.
For the list of winners, go here:
All the awards.
Source: festival-cannes.com