Cannes ‘08: Un Certain Regard winners: ‘Tulpan,’ ‘Tokyo Sonata,’ ‘Wolke 9,’ ‘Tyson’ and ‘Johnny Mad Dog’

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Although the Un Certain Regard jury normally gives just three prizes annually, it gave an extra two prizes this year to films in the Festival de Cannes’ Un Certain Regard selection because of the ‘quality of offerings.’

“Our mission was to attribute three prizes for Un Certain Regard, but considering the quality and richness of the offerings, and as a testimony of our great enthusiasm, the jury requested of the festival permission to recognize two more films with honors,” explained Faith Akin, Un Certain Regard Jury president.

‘Tulpan,’ a film about a young Naval officer who returns to life on the Kazakh steppe to a nomadic sheep herding life, won the top prize in the Festival de Cannes’ Un Certain Regard selection.

Other standouts in the Un Certain Regard selection include director Kurosawa Kiyoshi’s ‘Tokyo Sonata,’ which claimed the Jury Prize. Andreas Dresen’s ‘Cloud 9,’ which one wag described as ‘The Bucket List’ meets ‘Short Bus,’ won the Heart Throb prize, no doubt for its ample sex scenes starring a 60-something cast.

A specially named ‘Knockout’ prize was awarded to ‘Tyson,’ James Toback’s intimate portrait of Mike Tyson told in the boxer’s own words.

Lastly, a Prize of Hope was given to Jean-Stephane Sauvaire’s ‘Johnny Mad Dog,’ about a child-soldier armed to the teeth in Africa and a young refugee trying to protect her disabled father and little brother from the same teenage soldiers.

-- Sheigh Crabtree

See the complete list of winners:

And the winners are:

UN CERTAIN REGARD PRIZE

‘Tulpan’ (Sergei Dvortsevoi, Kazakhstan, Russia, Switzerland-Poland-Germany)

JURY PRIZE

‘Tokyo Sonata’ (Kurosawa Kiyoshi, Japan-Netherlands)

HEART THROB / COUP DE COEUR JURY PRIZE

‘Cloud 9’ (Andreas Dresen, Germany)

THE KNOCKOUT / K.O. OF UN CERTAIN REGARD

‘Tyson’ (James Toback, U.S.)

THE PRIZE OF HOPE / PRIX DE L’ESPOIR

‘Johnny Mad Dog’ (Jean-Stephane Sauvaire, France-Liberia- Belgium)