Sunday was a proud day for the Hispanic film community, as two of their own took home top prizes at the Cannes Film Festival. Awards for both the top director and actress went to Hispanic nominees.
Mexico's Amat Escalante won the top directing prize for his gory, blood-drenched film "Heli." The film was one of, if not the most, controversial film at Cannes, and his victory certainly generated plenty of buzz.
"Heli" depicts the bloody drug trade that has all but consumed Mexico in recent years. It is a story of a family that gets caught up in a war between rival drug gangs in the Mexican desert, and of course, there is plenty of torture to go around.
In one scene a man has his genitals set ablaze after being suspected of stealing cocaine, and there are plenty of even more graphic scenes as well. To his credit, Escalante takes the weight of his project in stride.
"Heli may be the most optimistic film you will ever see in which one young man sets another's genitals on fire," he quipped. Critics have been alight with questions over the film's content. Many believe that "Heli" is unnecessarily gory and far too disturbing to be properly enjoyed. Escalante had no problem firing back when confronted with those concerns.
"What's the point of not showing the violence just so the audience can go through the story and not suffer so much when actually that's not how violence is in real life?" he asked reporters.
Berenice Bejo, who is French but was born in Argentina, won the award for Best Actress in celebration of her performance in Asghar Farhadi's film "The Past." Bejo plays a wife who asks her estranged husband to return from Iran to finalize their divorce.
Bejo is no stranger to success. She burst onto the scene in 2012 with her role in the silent movie "The Artist," which won five awards at the Oscars that year. Despite her continued success however, the 36-year-old has stayed humble and thankful for the support she has received.
"It is special to get a best performance prize; it is for me and I cannot imagine getting something just for me. I would be nothing if there weren't other actors, the director photography, and all the members of the crew," she told reporters.
This year's Cannes festival marks continued success for the Hispanic film community at the film festival. Last year Mexico's Carlos Reygadas took home the top directing honor, and Michel Franco of Mexico and Chile's Pablo Larrian also won awards.
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