Korean, Filipino Films Among Cannes Winners
By wchung | 26 Mar, 2026

Filipino director Brillante Mendoza speaks after winning the Best Director award for the film 'Kinatay', during the 62nd International film festival in Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 24, 2009. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan)

Brillante Mendoza won the Best Director award in the Cannes International Film Festival for Kinatay (The Execution of P), a crime drama about a “chop-chop” lady.

Mendoza overcame stiff competition, including celebrated filmmakers Ang Lee (Taking Woodstock) and Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Bastards.

Mendoza is the first Filipino to win Best Director at Cannes for a full-length film. Mendoza made his debut at Cannes last year with Serbis, which was also In Competition.

Kinatay tells the grisly fate of a kidnap-rape victim (played by Maria Isabel Lopez) who is beaten up before she is murdered and hacked to pieces.

Twenty films competed for the highest honor of Cannes, the Palme d’Or (Golden Palm Award). The top film award went to Austrian director Michael Haneke for Das Weisse Band (The White Ribbon) while the Grand Prix award was given to French filmmaker Jacques Audiard for Un Prophete (A Prophet).

The Jury Prize was shared by the films Bak-Jwi (Thirst) directed by Park Chan-Wook and Fish Tank directed by Andrea Arnold.

The awards presented Sunday at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival, chosen by a jury headed by French Actress Isabelle Huppert:

—Palme d’Or (Golden Palm): “The White Ribbon,” by Michael Haneke (Austria)

—Grand Prize: “A Prophet,” by Jacques Audiard (France)

—Jury Prize: “Fish Tank,” by Andrea Arnold (Britain) and “Thirst,” By Park Chan-wook (South Korea)

—Special Prize: Alain Resnais

—Best Director: Brillante Mendoza, “Kinatay” (The Philippines)

—Best Actor: Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds” (United States)

—Best Actress: Charlotte Gainsbourg, “Antichrist” (Denmark)

—Best Screenplay: Feng Mei, “Spring Fever” (China)

—Camera d’Or (first-time director): “Samson and Delilah,” by Warwick Thornton (Australia)

—Best short film: “Arena,” by Joao Salaviza (Portugal)

5/24/2009 2:34 PM The Associated Press CANNES, France