Hollywood
Cannes: French director’s film on Tamil Tigers wins Palme D’Or
NEW DELHI: While Dheepan by French director Jacques Audiard won the Palme D’Or for the best film, renowned filmmaker Agn?s Varda received the highest distinction of an honorary Palme D’Or at the conclusion of the 68th Cannes International Film Festival in France.
The director and all-rounder swells the ranks of the exceptional award winners that include great names such as Woody Allen (2002), Manoel de Oliveira (2008), Clint Eastwood (2009), and Bernardo Bertolucci (2011).
The film, which won the top award is a moving drama dealing with three Tamil Tigers – a former soldier, a young woman and a child – who pose as a family to escape the civil war in Sri Lanka and get French asylum. It will be released in the US by IFC/Sundance Selects.
The director is also known for earlier films like A Prophet and Rust and Bone.
The awards were announced by the jury headed by Joel and Ethan Coen, and also included directors Guillermo del Toro and Xavier Dolan, actor Jake Gyllenhaal, actresses Sienna Miller, Sophie Marceau and Rossy de Palma and composer Rokia Traore.
The Best Actor award went to Vincent Lindon in La Loi Du Marché (The Measure of a Man) by Stéphane Brizé while the Actress awards were shared by Emmanuelle Bercot in Mon Roi by Ma?wenn, and Rooney Mara in Carol by Todd Haynes.
The second-place award, the Grand Prix, went to first-time director Laszlo Nemes’ harrowing Holocaust drama Son of Saul, while the third-place Jury Award went to Yorgos Lanthimos’ surreal The Lobster.
Hou Hsiao-Hsien was named the festival’s best director for his lavish martial arts epic The Assassin.
The Best Screenplay award was given to writer-director Michel Franco for Chronic, the Camera d’Or to La Tierra Y La Sombra (Land and Shade) by César Augusto Acevedo.
The Short Film Palme D’Or was given to Waves ’98 by Ely Dagher from Lebanon.
Eight of the 19 films in the main competition took home awards. Favourites, which failed to make include Matteo Garrone’s twisted fairy tale compilation Tale of Tales; Justin Kurzel’s MacBeth, with Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard; Joachim Trier’s Louder Than Bombs with Jesse Eisenberg and Isabelle Huppert.
The winners:
Palme d’Or: Dheepan, Jacques Audiard
Grand Prix: Son of Saul, Laszlo Nemes
Prix du Jury: The Lobster, Yorgos Lanthimos
Best Director: The Assassin, Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Best Screenplay: Chronic, Michel Franco
Camera d’Or (Best First Feature): La Tierra y la Sombra (Land and Shade), Cesar Augusto Acevedo
Best Actor: Vincent Lindon, The Measure of a Man
Best Actress: (tie) Rooney Mara, Carol, and Emmanuelle Bercot, Mon Roi
Palme d’Or, Short Film: Waves 98, Ely Dagher
Meanwhile, the Cinéfondation and Short Films Jury headed by Abderrahmane Sissako awarded the 2015 Cinéfondation Prize Share by Pippa Bianco of AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women, USA. The Second Prize went to Locas Perdidas directed by Ignacio Juricic Merillan from Carrera de Cine y TV Universidad de Chile, Chile; and the third prize jointly went to The Return Of Erkin directed by Maria Guskova from High Courses for Scriptwriters and Film Directors, Russia, and Victor XX directed by Ian Gamdo Lopez from ESCAC, Spain.
The Cinéfondation Selection consisted of 18 student films, selected from among 593 entries from 381 film schools around the world.
The first prize winner received €15,000, with €11,250 going to the second and €7,500 to the third.
Hollywood
Paramount eyes $24bn Gulf support to fund Warner Bros Discovery merger: Reports
Sovereign funds line up funding as media giants chase streaming scale
NEW YORK: Paramount Skydance is in talks to secure nearly $24 billion in equity commitments from Gulf sovereign wealth funds to support its planned takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, according to a WSJ report.
The funding push comes as Paramount Skydance advances its proposed $110 billion deal for Warner Bros. Discovery, which carries an equity valuation of $81 billion and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026.
At the heart of the financing plan are three major Gulf investors. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is expected to contribute roughly $10 billion, while the Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi-based L’imad Holding are likely to make up the remainder.
Crucially, the proposed investments are structured as non-voting stakes. This means the Gulf backers would not have direct control in the combined entity, a move designed to ease regulatory concerns in the United States. Paramount executives reportedly do not expect the deal to trigger scrutiny from bodies such as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States or the Federal Communications Commission.
If completed, the merger would bring together a formidable portfolio of entertainment and news assets, including CNN and CBS. The combined entity aims to better compete in a fast-evolving media landscape where streaming platforms are steadily pulling audiences away from traditional television.
The deal reflects a broader shift in global media, where scale is increasingly seen as essential to survive the streaming wars. By pooling content libraries, technology and distribution, Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery are betting on size and synergy to drive future growth.
The involvement of deep-pocketed Gulf investors also underscores the growing role of sovereign wealth in shaping global media consolidation, particularly at a time when high-value deals demand equally large financial backing.
With shareholder votes and regulatory milestones still ahead, the proposed tie-up remains one of the most closely watched media deals of the year. If it clears the final hurdles, it could redraw the competitive map of the global entertainment industry.
