Aki Kaurismäki To Receive Golden Coach At Cannes

La Société des Réalisateurs de Films (SRF) has selected Finnish screenwriter and director Aki Kaurismäki to receive the Carrosse d’Or, or Golden Coach, at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Since 2002, SRF has paid tribute to one of its peers, selected for the innovative nature of their films, and their uncompromising staging and production. It will be awarded during the opening ceremony of the 48th Directors’ Fortnight, which runs 12-22 May 2016 as part of the 69th Cannes Film Festival.

Kaurismäki has been honoured before at Cannes: in 2002 he won the Grand Prix for The Man Without A Past, and in 2011 he was presented with the FIPRESCI Prize for Le Havre. However, this time he is to be recognised for his body of work rather than any individual piece.

In a letter sent to Aki Kaurismäki, the SRF Board of Directors say:

“Your stories are inspired fables that tell of the forgotten, the left out, the excessives, those who do not have a user manual.”

“You film each time with economy, precision and grandeur… Your films are often melancholic but never overwhelming, and always end up finding a fuel that lights the darkest nights.”

“For the languor and the insolence of your movies, for their healthy and quiet subversion, we want to honour you during the biggest film event in the world,”

Previous of the Carrosse d’Or are: Jacques Rozier (2002), Clint Eastwood (2003), Nanni Moretti (2004), Ousmane Sembene (2005), David Cronenberg (2006), Alain Cavalier (2007), Jim Jarmusch (2008), Naomi Kawase (2009), Agnès Varda (2010), Jafar Panahi (2011), Nuri Bilge Ceylan (2012), Jane Campion (2013), Alain Resnais (2014), and Jia Zhangke (2015).