The 56th Cannes Film Festival took place from 14 to 25 May 2003. French opera and theatre director, filmmaker, actor and producer Patrice Chéreau was the President of the Jury for the main competition. Monica Bellucci hosted the opening and closing ceremonies.
American filmmaker Gus Van Sant won the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, for the drama film Elephant, based on the Columbine High School massacre. Ingmar Bergman was awarded with the Honorary Palme d'Or for his contributions to cinema throughout his career.
The festival opened with Fanfan la Tulipe by Gérard Krawczyk, and closed with Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin by Richard Schickel.
Juries The following people were appointed as the Jury for the various sections below: Main competition Patrice Chéreau, French filmmaker, actor and producer - Jury President Erri De Luca, Italian poet Jiang Wen, Chinese actor, screenwriter and director Aishwarya Rai, Indian actress Jean Rochefort, French actor Meg Ryan, American actress Steven Soderbergh, American filmmaker Danis Tanović, Bosnian filmmaker Karin Viard, French actress
Un Certain Regard Abderrahmane Sissako, Mauritanian filmmaker - Jury President Jannike Ahlund Geoff Andrew, British writer Alexis Campion Christine Masson Pierre Todeschini
Cinéfondation and Short Films Competition Emir Kusturica, Serbian filmmaker - Jury President Mary Lea Bandy, American director of Patrimoine Au Moma Zabou Breitman, French actress, director Ingeborga Dapkunaite, Lithuanian actress Michel Ocelot, French director
Camera d'Or Wim Wenders, German filmmaker - Jury President Laurent Aknin, French critic Alain Champetier, French Representative of the technical industries Géraldine d'Haen, French secretary of the jury Gian Luca Farinelli, Italian cinephile Agnès Godard, French cinematographer Claude Makovski, French cinephile Bernard Uhlmann, Swizz cinephile Christian Vincent, French director
Official selection In Competition The following feature films competed for the Palme d'Or: English title Original title Director(s) Production Country At Five in the Afternoonپنج عصر Samira Makhmalbaf Iran, France The Barbarian InvasionsLes Invasions barbares Denys Arcand Canada, France Bright Futureアカルイミライ Kiyoshi Kurosawa JapanThe Brown Bunny Vincent Gallo United States, JapanCarandiru Héctor Babenco Brazil, Argentina Les Côtelettes Bertrand Blier FranceDogville Lars von Trier Denmark, United Kingdom, Sweden, France, GermanyElephant Gus Van Sant United States Father and SonОтец и сын Alexander Sokurov Russia IncantatoIl cuore altrove Pupi Avati Italy Little LiliLa Petite Lili Claude Miller FranceMystic River Clint Eastwood United States Purple Butterfly紫蝴蝶 Lou Ye China Shara沙羅双樹 Naomi Kawase Japan StrayedLes égarés André Téchiné FranceSwimming Pool François Ozon France, United Kingdom That DayCe jour-là Raúl Ruiz Switzerland, FranceThe Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: The Moab Story Peter Greenaway Netherlands, United KingdomTiresia Bertrand Bonello France Uzak Nuri Bilge Ceylan Turkey
Un Certain Regard The following films were selected for the competition of Un Certain Regard: {| class="wikitable" width="100%" |- ! scope="col" | English title ! scope="col" | Original title ! scope="col" | Director(s) ! scope="col" | Production Country |- | All Tomorrow's Parties||明日天涯|| data-sort-value="“Makhma”" | Yu Lik-wai || China |- | colspan="2" |American Splendor |Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini |United States |- |Arimpara |അരിമ്പാറ |Murali Nair |India |- style="background:#FFDEAD" |The Best of Youth |La meglio gioventù |Marco Tullio Giordana |Italy |- |Crimson Gold |طلای سرخ |Jafar Panahi |Iran |- |Drifters |二弟 |Wang Xiaoshuai |China, Hong Kong |- | colspan="2" |Japanese Story |Sue Brooks |Australia |- | colspan="2" |Kiss of Life |Emily Young |United Kingdom |- |Playing 'In the Company of Men' |En jouant 'Dans la compagnie des hommes|Arnaud Desplechin |France |- |Robinson's Crusoe |魯賓遜漂流記 |Lin Cheng-sheng |Taiwan |- | colspan="2" |September |Max Färberböck |Germany |- |Soldiers of Salamina |Soldados de Salamina |David Trueba |Spain |- |The Southern Cross |La cruz del sur |Pablo Reyero |Argentina |- |Stormy Weather |Stormviðri |Sólveig Anspach |France, Iceland |- | colspan="2" |Struggle |Ruth Mader |Austria |- |A Thousand Months |Mille mois |Faouzi Bensaïdi |France, Morocco |- |Today and Tomorrow |Hoy y mañana |Alejandro Chomski |Argentina |- |Where Is Madame Catherine? |Les mains vides |Marc Recha |France, Spain |- | colspan="2" |Young Adam |David Mackenzie |United Kingdom
Out of Competition The following films were selected to be screened out of competition: English title Original title Director(s) Production Country Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin (closing film) Richard Schickel United StatesClaude Sautet or the Invisible MagicClaude Sautet ou La magie invisibleN. T. BinhFrance, GermanyComing and GoingVai e VemJoão César MonteiroPortugal, FranceEasy Riders, Raging BullsKenneth BowserUnited States, United KingdomFanfan la Tulipe (opening film)Gérard KrawczykFranceThe Fog of WarErrol MorrisUnited StatesGhosts of the Abyss James CameronIl grido d'angoscia dell'uccello predatore (20 tagli d'Aprile)Nanni MorettiItalyThe Last CustomerLes marches etc... (une comédie musicale)Gilles JacobFranceThe Matrix ReloadedThe WachowskisUnited StatesModern Times (1936)Charlie ChaplinS-21: The Khmer Rouge Killing MachineS-21, la machine de mort Khmère rougeRithy PanhCambodia, FranceThe Soul of a ManWim WendersUnited States, GermanyTime of the Wolf Le Temps du LoupMichael HanekeFrance, Austria, GermanyThe Triplets of Belleville Les Triplettes de BellevilleSylvain ChometFrance, Belgium, Canada, United KingdomWekande Walauwa (Mansion by the Lake)වෑකන්ද වලව්වLester James PeriesSri LankaWho Killed Bambi?Qui a tué Bambi?Gilles MarchandFrance
Cinéfondation The following short films were selected for the competition of Cinéfondation:
19 At 11 by Michael Schwartz Am See by Ulrike von Ribbeck Bezi zeko bezi by Pavle Vučković Dremano oko by Vladimir Perisic Fish Never Sleep by Gaëlle Denis Five Deep Breaths by Seith Mann Free Loaders by Haim Tabakman Historia del desierto (short) by Celia Galan Julve Hitokoroshi no ana by Ikeda Chihiro Le pacte by Heidi Maria Faisst Like Twenty Impossibles by Annemarie Jacir Mechanika by David Sukup Rebeca a esas alturas by Luciana Jauffred Gorostiza Stuck by Jeremy Roberts The Box Man by Nirvan Mullick The Water Fight by Norah McGettigan TV City by Alejandra Tomei, Alberto Couceiro Empty for Love by Vimukthi Jayasundara Wonderful Day by Hyun-Pil Kim Zero by Carolina Rivas
Short film competition The following short films competed for the Short Film Palme d'Or:
Cracker Bag by Glendyn Ivin L'enfant promis by Marsa Makris Fast Film by Virgil Widrich La fenêtre ouverte by Philippe Barcinski L'homme le plus beau du monde by Alicia Duffy L'homme sans tête by Juan Solanas Je germe by Esther Rots Mon frère aveugle by Sophie Goodhart Neige au mois de Novembre by Karolina Jonsson
Parallel sections International Critics' Week The following films were screened for the 42nd International Critics' Week (42e Semaine de la Critique):Feature film competition 20H17, Rue Darling by Bernard Edmond (Canada) Deux Fereshté (Two Angels) by Mamad Haghighat (Iran) Elle est des nôtres by Siegrid Alnoy (France) Entre ciclones by Enrique Colina (Cuba) Milwaukee, Minnesota by Allan Mindel (United States) Reconstruction by Christoffer Boe (Denmark) Since Otar Left (Depuis qu'Otar est parti...) by Julie Bertuccelli (France, Belgium, Georgia)Short film competition Belarra by Koldo Almandoz (Spain) Derrière les fagots by Ron Dyens (France) Love Is the Law by Eivind Tolas (Norway) Maste by Erik Rosenlund (Sweden) La Petite Fille by Licia Eminenti (France) The Truth About the Head by Dale Heslip (Canada) Turangawaewae by Peter Burger (New Zealand)Special screenings Off the map by Campbell Scott (United States) (opening film) Camarades by Marin Karmitz (France) (La séance du Parrain) Condor : les axes du mal by Rodrigo Vasque (France) (Documentary) Araki – The Killing of a Japanese Photographer by Anders Morgenthaller (Denmark) (Short film) Good Night by Chun Sun-Young (South Korea) (Short film) Nosferatu Tango by Zoltán Horváth (Switzerland, France) (Short film) B.B. & Il Cormorano by Edoardo Gabbriellini (Italy) (closing film)
Directors' Fortnight Apart from 16 short films, the following feature films were screened for the 2003 Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalizateurs):
Bright Leaves (doc.) by Ross McElwee (United States, United Kingdom) Carême by José Álvaro Morais (Portugal) La chose publique by Mathieu Amalric (France) Cry No More (Les Yeux secs) by Narjiss Nejjar (France, Morocco) Deep Breath by Parviz Shahbazi (Iran) Feathers in My Head (Des plumes dans la tête) by Thomas De Thier (Belgium, France) Gozu by Takashi Miike (Japan) The Hours of the Day (Las horas del día) by Jaime Rosales (Spain) Interstella 5555 by Kazuhisa Takenouchi (Japan, France) L'Isola by Costanza Quatriglio (Italy) James' Journey to Jerusalem by Ra'anan Alexandrowicz (Israel) Kitchen Stories (Salmer fra Kjøkkenet) by Bent Hamer (United States, Norway) Kleine Freiheit by Yüksel Yavuz (Germany) Les Lionceaux by Claire Doyon (France) Love Film (Filme de amor) by Júlio Bressane (Brazil) Mike Brant – Laisse moi t'aimer (doc.) by Erez Laufer (France, Israel) Le Monde vivant by Eugène Green (France, Belgium) The Mother by Roger Michell (United Kingdom) Naked Childhood (L'enfance nue) by Maurice Pialat (France) Niki and Flo (Niki Ardelean, colonel în rezerva) by Lucian Pintilie (Romania, France) No pasarán, album souvenir (doc.) by Henri-François Imbert (France) No Rest for the Brave (Pas de repos pour les braves) by Alain Guiraudie (France, Austria) Osama by Siddiq Barmak (Afghanistan, Netherlands, Japan, Ireland, Iran) Saltimbank by Jean-Claude Biette (France) Seducing Doctor Lewis (La grande séduction) by Jean-François Pouliot (Canada) The Forest (Le Silence de la forêt) by Bassek ba Kobhio, Didier Ouénangaré (Cameroon, France) Sansa by Siegfried (Spain, France) Les Terres de l'ogre by Sami Kafati (Honduras, France) Watermark by Georgina Willis (Australia) The Woman Who Believed She Was President of the United States (A Mulher que Acreditava ser Presidente dos Estados Unidos da América) by João Botelho (Portugal) Im Anfang war der Blick by Bady Minck (Austria/Luxembourg)
Official Awards
In Competition The following films and people received the 2003 Official selection awards: Palme d'Or: Elephant by Gus Van Sant Grand Prix: Uzak by Nuri Bilge Ceylan Best Director: Elephant by Gus Van Sant Best Screenplay: The Barbarian Invasions by Denys Arcand Best Actress: Marie-Josée Croze for The Barbarian Invasions Best Actor: Muzaffer Özdemir and Emin Toprak for Uzak Jury Prize: At Five in the Afternoon by Samira Makhmalbaf
Un Certain Regard Un Certain Regard Award: The Best of Youth by Marco Tullio Giordana Le Premier Regard Award: A Thousand Months by Faouzi Bensaïdi Un Certain Regard Jury Prize: Crimson Gold by Jafar Panahi
Cinéfondation First Prize: Run Rabbit Run by Pavle Vučković Second Prize: Historia del desierto by Celia Galan Julve Third Prize: TV City by Alejandra Tomei and Alberto Couceiro Rebeca a esas alturas by Luciana Jauffred Gorostiza
Caméra d'Or Reconstruction by Christoffer Boe Special Mention: Osama by Siddiq Barmak
Short Films Competition Short Film Palme d'Or: Cracker Bag by Glendyn Ivin Short Film Jury Prize: L'homme sans tête by Juan Solanas
Independent Awards
FIPRESCI Prizes The Hours of the Day by Jaime Rosales (Director's Fortnight) Father and Son by Alexander Sokurov (In competition) American Splendor by Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini (Un Certain Regard)
Vulcan Award of the Technical Artist