Sawt Falasteen - Cannes closes with Iranian, Ukrainian films tipped for glory

After almost a fortnight of glamorous red carpets and some politics, French actor Juliette Binoche and her jury will announce the winner from the 22 films vying for one of the world's most prestigious cinema awards.

The best-reviewed contenders include Iranian director Jafar Panahi's "It Was Just an Accident" and Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa's study of despotism in "Two Prosecutors".

On the last day of screenings, Britain's The Guardian newspaper gave a rare five-star review to "Young Mothers", a sensitive portrait of teen mothers by Belgium's two-time Palme d'Or winners Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne.

A German film starring women from four generations called "Sound of Falling", and a 1970s-set Brazilian film titled "The Secret Agent" have also wowed critics.

Many festival goers fell for the feel-good drama of Richard Linklater's "Nouvelle Vague" about French director Jean-Luc Godard.

Beyond the competition, the French Riviera has been buzzing with A-listers but also politics.

US filmmaker Todd Haynes warned of the "barbaric US presidency", while Chilean-American actor Pedro Pascal admitted it was "scary" to speak out against President Donald Trump.

The Gaza war has been on the minds of some of the festival's guests, with more than 900 actors and filmmakers signing an open letter denouncing "genocide" in the Palestinian territory, according to organisers.

Binoche, "Schindler's List" star Ralph Fiennes, US indie director Jim Jarmusch and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange -- in town to present a documentary he stars in -- are among the signatories.

- Awards -

Awards have already started to be announced.

The first Chechen film to screen at the Cannes Festival won best documentary, while the film about the life of Assange -- "The Six Billion Dollar Man" -- picked up a special jury prize on Friday.

In the secondary Un Certain Regard section, Chilean filmmaker Diego Cespedes won the top prize for "The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo", which follows a group of trans women living in a desert mining town in the 1980s.

French actor-turned-director Hafsia Herzi won the unofficial Queer Palm for "The Last One", a coming-of-age tale about a teenage lesbian Muslim living in Paris.

"I wanted to show that there were no borders in friendship, in love," Herzi said.

Earlier in the week, "Useful Ghost", an off-the-wall Thai LGBTQ ghost story packing a daring political punch, was awarded top prize in the Critics' Week sidebar section.

"We need more diverse queer stories to be told," director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke said.

On a lighter note, a sheepdog which features in Icelandic family drama "The Love That Remains" won the Palm Dog prize for canine performers in festival's films, organisers announced.

Icelandic director Hlynur Palmason cast his own pet, Panda, in his poignant story about a couple navigating a separation and the impact on their family.

S.AbuJamous--SF-PST