The press and public were quite taken aback with the final results of the 52nd Cannes Festival competition. Okay, we can understand that Canadian President David Cronenberg in search of artistic values would snub North America, even though Lynch, Jarmusch and Egoyan presented films of a notable caliber. Also understandable that Manoel de Oliveira would win a prize - Jury Prix - which is more of a lifetime achievement award, considering that he is still making films at his age; he's in his nineties. And at least the jury did not snub Pedro Almodovar who won the Best Director award for All about My Mother. The audience gave him a standing ovation, which only resonated the opinion of the press. He pointed out that it was only possible for him to be present because he is the offspring of the new democracy in Spain. And maybe in a moment of lucidity in view of the jury's propensities, he shared the award with his colleagues: Egoyan, Jarmusch and Kitano, realizing that of all the well-established filmmakers present from his generation, he was the only one to be awarded.

Caneele is currently on unemployment, used to work in a factory and is not a professional actress. Opposite her in Humanity by Bruno Dumont shot in Northern France was Emmanuel Schotté, another non-professional, ex-military man. He won the Best Actor award and Dumont the Grand Jury Prize for which he was lightly booed by the audience.

There was something extremely incongruous about non-professionals winning professional acting awards. In the middle of the Cannes atmosphere of elegant parties, attire, cars, jewelry and million dollar deals being cinched, the grand winners - in the film as well as in real life - represented the struggle to survive, it's a tough life and social realism. Both the Belgian brothers and Dumont have documentary or industrial filmmaking backgrounds and Dumont was also a philosophy teacher.

One thing is for sure, the last screening slot on the Saturday night day before the awards is a good luck spot. Last year it was true for Eternity and a Day by Theo Angelopoulos (Palme d'Or 98) and this year for Rosetta. For this edition, David Cronenberg was looking for artistic original angles and he certainly found his path, which could almost be labeled as that of "art et essai." They are just not the kind of films that the general public is in the habit of seeing at their local movie theatres and a far cry from the old adage Life is Beautiful. Excuse me, that was last year.

It's time to pack up and call it take. The year 2000 edition will be bigger with added square meters and theaters presently under construction and a number of events worthy of marking Cannes' place in the world of cinema for the next millennium. See you then. Signing off. Carol