Yes we Cannes! 10 British films that have won the Palme d'Or

Yes we Cannes! 10 British films that have won the Palme d'Or - Cannes Film Festival has returned. There’s stunning red carpet looks and exciting film premiers. However, for many, all eyes are on what film will receive the Palme d’Or. It’s the highest prize awarded at the festival, given to the best film. Let’s take a look at the British films that have won the Palme d’Or. The list is based on the nationality of the film’s director at the original time of release.

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‘Brief Encounter’ (1946) - The first time a British film won the Palme d’Or was in 1946, with ‘Brief Encounter’.

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‘Brief Encounter’ (1946) - The film was directed by David Lean (pictured) and starred Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard.

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‘Brief Encounter’ (1946) - ‘Brief Encounter’ tells the story of a woman who is tempted to cheat on her husband, after meeting a mysterious stranger at a railway station.

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‘The Third Man’ (1949) - ‘The Third Man’ was the second British film to win the Palme d’Or. It took the prize at the Cannes festival in 1949.

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‘The Third Man’ (1949) - Carol Reed (pictured) directed the film, which starred Joseph Cotten and the magnificent Orson Welles.

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‘The Third Man’ (1949) - Cotten plays Holly Martins, a man that investigates the death of his friend, Harry Lime.

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‘The Knack …and How to Get It’ (1965) - Through the ‘50s, the UK didn’t have a big winner at Cannes. That all changed in 1965 with ‘The Knack… and How to Get It’.

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‘The Knack …and How to Get It’ (1965) - The comedy starred Michael Crawford as an uptight schoolteacher, who works with his womanising roommate to get some female attention.

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‘The Knack …and How to Get It’ (1965) - Richard Lester (pictured) directed ‘The Knack...’, which also starred Rita Tushingham and Ray Brooks.

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‘If…’ (1969) - ‘If...’ was another British film that won the Palme d’Or in the ‘60s. Like ‘The Knack...’, the film also satirised school life in the UK.

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‘If…’ (1969) - Directed by Lindsay Anderson (pictured), ‘If...’ follows pupils as they lead a revolution at a private school in England.

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‘If…’ (1969) - The film starred Malcolm McDowell (pictured) and David Wood as the revolutionary students.

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‘The Go-Between’ (1971) - ‘The Go-Between’ took the Palme d’Or in 1971. Joseph Losey directed the film.

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‘The Go-Between’ (1971) - The compelling romantic drama starred Julie Christie (pictured), Alan Bates and Dominic Guard.

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‘The Go-Between’ (1971) - ‘The Go-Between’ follows a schoolboy who sends messages between his sister (Christie) and a tenant neighbour, played by Alan Bates (pictured).

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‘The Hireling’ (1973) - ‘The Hireling’ is another Palme d’Or-winner that was adapted from a L. P. Hartley book.

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‘The Hireling’ (1973) - Directed by Alan Bridges (pictured, left), the film focuses on a young woman who strikes up a relationship with her chauffeur.

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‘The Hireling’ (1973) - Sarah Miles (pictured) and Robert Shaw starred in the film, with support from Peter Egan, Caroline Mortimer and Elizabeth Sellars.

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‘The Mission’ (1986) - The winning film back in 1986 was ‘The Mission’. French-English director Roland Joffé was the brains behind this historical epic.

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‘The Mission’ (1986) - The film starred Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons (pictured) as Spanish Jesuits. The characters are tasked with protecting a South American tribe from Portuguese colonists.

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‘The Mission’ (1986) - The film won a host of other awards upon its release. Chris Menges (pictured) took home the Best Cinematography Oscar for his work on the film.

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‘Secrets & Lies’ (1996) - Ten years later, ‘Secrets & Lies’ went on to win the Palme d’Or. Mike Leigh wrote and directed the film, which stars an excellent ensemble cast.

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‘Secrets & Lies’ (1996) - The film follows Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Hortense Cumberbatch. She’s a successful black woman that discovers that her birth mother is an impoverished white woman.

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‘Secrets & Lies’ (1996) - Timothy Spall, Phyllis Logan and Brenda Blethyn (pictured) are just some of the stunning UK actors in ‘Secrets & Lies’.

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‘The Wind That Shakes the Barley’ (2006) - Another ten years past and Ken Loach took home his first Palme d’Or. The award was for ‘The Wind That Shakes the Barley’, released in 2006.

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‘The Wind That Shakes the Barley’ (2006) - The film was written by Loach’s long-time collaborator, Paul Laverty.

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‘The Wind That Shakes the Barley’ (2006) - Cillian Murphy and Liam Cunningham star as two young men that join the Irish Republican Army.

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I, Daniel Blake (2016) - You guessed it, fast forward ten years and Loach and Laverty won again for ‘I, Daniel Blake’.

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I, Daniel Blake (2016) - Of course, the film won the Palme d’Or, with critics praising its gritty storytelling and performance by Dave Johns (pictured, left).

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.I, Daniel Blake (2016) - Johns (pictured, right) plays the titular Daniel Blake, a man that’s denied employment benefits despite not being able to work.

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