After 12 days of glitz, couture and Roberto Cavalli cut-outs, the 2013 Cannes Film Festival is all packed up for another year. Boo! Where are we going to get our daily glamour fix from now, eh? The festival ended with a bang that included the glitzy closing ceremony, the premiere of Zulu as well as the 'Palme d'Or' award. And this year the prestigious prize was awarded to...drum roll please... Blue Is The Warmest Colour - a French produced film about a passionate lesbian relationship. Congrats!
The leading actors Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos and Tunisian born director Abdellatif Kechich posed with their gong in front of the sparkling Riviera. Lea also won in the fashion stakes thanks to a monochrome Maxime Simoens gown designed specifically for her to walk the red carpet at Cannes. The black silk crepe gown featured a fake white jacket covered in Swarovski crystal fabric. With a chic colour palette and figure-hugging silhouette, this look is Cannes at it's very best. The starlet paired her frock with a chic chignon and a handful of Chopard diamonds, natch.
Léa's co-star Adèle Exarchopoulos was a world away from the Balmain '80s power mini she wore to the premiere of Blue Is The Warmest Colour, as she opted for a white floaty one-shoulder Gucci gown with pretty ruffles at the neck.
The Palme d'Or citation usually just awards the director - but the two actors were also included this year. The jury president Steven Spielberg said: 'It was an obvious conclusion that without Léa and Adèle, the synergy could not have happened. If the casting had been even slightly different, if anything had been a little left of centre, it wouldn't have worked. It was the perfect choice from a sensitive film-maker.'
Spielberg said of the coming-of-age lesbian love story: 'The film is a great love story … We were absolutely spellbound by the two brilliant young actresses, and the way the director observed his young players.' He added that the decision to award this (often explicit) lesbian film with the Palme d'Or had nothing to do with the debate over the legalisation of gay marriage in France, as he said 'As you know, the characters in this film do not get married. Politics did not enter the room with us.'
Bérénice Bejo also picked up the award for best actress in The Past, wearing a teal Elie Saab over the knee frock with matching suede Louboutins.
Get a taster of the winning film by watching the trailer below...