Palme d’Or Whisperer Neon Makes It A Remarkable Four In A Row With ‘Anatomy Of A Fall’ — Cannes

Neon has continued its remarkable streak of consecutive Palme d’Or wins with English and French-language drama Anatomy Of A Fall.

Justine Triet’s film becomes the U.S. distributor’s fourth consecutive Palme d’Or winner after previous acquisitions Triangle Of Sadness, Titane and Parasite.

Anatomy of a Fall follows Sandra (Sandra Hüller), a German writer, her French husband Samuel, and their eleven-year-old son Daniel who live a secluded life in a remote town in the French Alps. When Samuel is found dead in the snow below their chalet, the police question whether he committed suicide or was killed. Samuel’s death is treated as suspicious, presumed murder, and Sandra becomes the main suspect.

Jury head Ruben Östlund said tonight at the jury press conference: “This is a film that everyone stands behind on the jury. One thing that came out [of our deliberations] was that these films created a collective experience. The Palme d’Or winner was an intense experience — it’s what cinema should be.”

Justine Triet (2023)
Ruben Östlund (2022)
Julia Ducournau (2021)
Bong Joon Ho (2019) pic.twitter.com/S0IwzRWqi1

— NEON (@neonrated) May 27, 2023

Neon acquired both Anatomy Of A Fall and Triangle Of Sadness during their Cannes festival moments. Both Parasite and Titane were pre-bought with impressive foresight the year before their festival berths. Parasite went on to score four Oscars, including Best Picture, while Triangle Of Sadness (directed by jury head Östlund) last year scored three Oscar nominations.

Anatomy Of A Fall was acquired last week from French seller mk2 films. Pic is produced by Les Films Pelleas and Les Films de Pierre, with Marie-Ange Luciani and David Thion producers. Arthur Harari is co-writer with Triet, who becomes only the third female winner of the Palme d’Or. Titane director Julie Ducournau (who was also on this year’s jury) was the second after Jane Campion blazed a trail with The Piano.

You can check out our review of the film here, our interview with Triet here and the full list of winners from the night here.

Neon acquired two Competition films this festival. The other was Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days, which tonight scooped the best actor prize for Koji Yakusho.