PERSEPOLIS, an animated feature about a young girl's life under Iran's ayatollahs shared the jury prize March 27, 2007, at the Cannes Film Festival.
The animated short, MADAME TUTLI-PUTLI, from The National Film Board of Canada, also picked up two major awards. The avant-garde, stop-motion film from Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski won the Canal + Award for Best Short Film and the Petit Rail d'Or for Best Short Film.
A black-and-white adaptation of Marjane Satrapi's graphic novels, PERSEPOLIS shared the prize with STELLET LICHT, a live-action film about faith and death among members of a Mennonite farming community in Mexico. The jury prize is basically the third prize at Cannes.
The festival's top prize, the Palme d'Or, went to director Cristian Mungiu's 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS, about illegal abortion in Communist-era Romania.
The festival's grand prize, the second-highest award, went to Japanese director Naomi Kawase's MOGARI NO MORI (THE MOURNING FOREST), about a retirement home resident and a caretaker trying to overcome the deaths of loved ones.
Produced in France, PERSEPOLIS is about growing up during and after Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. Authorus Satrapi co-directed the animated film with Vincent Paronnaud.
"Even if this is a universal film, I want to dedicate this prize to all Iranians," Satrapi said to the French news service AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE.
The AFP reported Dr. Ali Akbar Velayati, a former Iranian foreign minister and adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said PERSEPOLIS was, "evidence that the United States is trying to "encourage forces opposed to the authorities in any way possible."
The viewer goes on an existential journey in MADAME TUTLI-PUTLI when the title character boards the night train, weighed down with all earthly possessions and the ghosts of her past. MADAME TUTLI-PUTLI will be broadcast on the major French network and the directors will be invited to the Moulin dâAndé, a historical monument and artistsâ retreat.
The MADAME TUTLI-PUTLI filmmakers will also receive $8,085 worth of equipment from Panavision Alga Techno for use on their next film. Le Petit Rail dâOr is awarded by a group of 100 cinephile railwaymen and reflects audience appreciation.
