1981 Cannes Film Festival

Jury

• Jacques Deray Jury President
• Ellen Burstyn
• Jean-Claude Carrière
• Robert Chazal
• Attilio d'Onofrio
• Christian Defaye
• Carlos Diegues
• Antonio Gala
• Andrey Petrov
• Douglas Slocombe

  Official selection

In competition - Feature film

• Angels of Iron by Thomas Brasch
• Beau-père by Bertrand Blier
• Chariots of Fire by Hugh Hudson
• Cserepek by István Gaál
• Excalibur by John Boorman
• Faktas by Almantas Grikevičius
• Flame Top by Pirjo Honkasalo and Pekka Lehto
• Heaven's Gate by Michael Cimino
• Light Years Away by Alain Tanner
• Looks and Smiles by Ken Loach
• Man of Iron by Andrzej Wajda
• Mephisto by István Szabó
• Montenegro by Dušan Makavejev
• National Heritage by Luis García Berlanga
• Neige by Juliet Berto
• Passion of Love by Ettore Scola
• Possession by Andrzej Żuławski
• Quartet by James Ivory
• The Skin by Liliana Cavani
• Thief by Michael Mann
• Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man by Bernardo Bertolucci
• Les Uns et les Autres by Claude Lelouch

  Un Certain Regard

• ...And God Created Them by Jacobo Morales
• Arising from the Surface by Mani Kaul
• The Big Night Bathe by Binka Zhelyazkova
• Cerromaior by Luís Filipe Rocha
• Eijanaika by Shohei Imamura
• I Love You by Arnaldo Jabor
• Let There Be Light by John Huston
• Memoirs of a Survivor by David Gladwell
• Un moment de bonheur by Yves Laumet
• Mur Murs by Agnès Varda
• A Thousand Little Kisses by Mira Recanati
• The Witness by Péter Bacsó
• Who's That Singing Over There by Slobodan Šijan
• You Love Only Once by Rajko Grlić

  Films out of competition

• Anima – Symphonie phantastique by Titus Leber
• Blood Wedding by Carlos Saura
• by Murray Lerner
• Hands Up! by Jerzy Skolimowski
• Havoc in Heaven by Wan Laiming
• Honeysuckle Rose by Jerry Schatzberg
• La Mouche by Ferenc Rofusz
• The Postman Always Rings Twice by Bob Rafelson
• Street Angel by Mu-jih Yuan
• This Is Elvis by Malcolm Leo, Andrew Solt
• Three Brothers by Francesco Rosi
• Troubled Laughter by Yimin Deng, Yanjin Yang

  Short film competition

• Alephah by Gérald Frydman
• André Derain, thèmes et variations by François Porcile
• Dilemma by John Halas
• Diskzokej by Jiří Barta
• Král a skritek by Lubomír Beneš
• Manövergäste by G. Nicolas Hayek
• Maskirani razbojni by Petar Lalovic
• Moto Perpetuo by Béla Vajda
• Ne me parlez plus jamais d'amour by Sylvain Madigan
• Le Rat by Elisabeth Huppert
• Ravnovesie by Boiko Kanev
• Trcanje by Dusko Sevo
• Zea by André Leduc

  Parallel sections

International Critics' Week

• She Dances Alone, by Robert Dornhelm
• The Moth by Tomasz Zygadlo
• Fil, fond, fosfor by Philippe Nahoun
• Kill Hitler by Villi Hermann, Niklaus Meienberg, Hans Stürm
• Malou by Jeanine Meerapfel
• Fertile Memory by Michel Khleifi
• Le Chapeau malheureux by Maria Sos

  Directors' Fortnight

• Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Ata Hai by Saeed Mirza
• Alligator Shoes by Clay Borris
• Americana by David Carradine
• Act of Violence by Eduardo Escorel
• Baddegama by Lester James Peries
• Bolivar, Sinfonia Tropical by Diego Risquez
• Bona by Lino Brocka
• Chakra, Vicious Circle by Rabindra Dharmaraj
• Conversa Acabada by João Botelho
• Desperado City by Vadim Glowna
• No Mercy, No Future by Helma Sanders-Brahms
• Francisca by Manoel De Oliveira
• The Vulture by Yaky Yosha
• The Mark of the Beast by Pieter Verhoeff
• In Defense of People by Rafigh Pooya
• Fruits of Passion by Shuji Terayama
• The Plouffe Family by Gilles Carle
• Memorias Do Medo by Alberto Graça
• Narcissus and Psyche by Gábor Bódy
• Seuls by Francis Reusser
• Tell Me A Riddle by Lee Grant
• Wizja lokalna 1901 by Filip Bajon
• Evolution by Sheila Graber
• Face To Face by Sheila Graber
• Le Miroir Vivant by Eunice Hutchins, Norbert Barnich
• Michelangelo by Sheila Graber
• Music For Film by Jean-Claude Wouters
• Pour Trois Minutes De Gloire by Jean-Claude Bronckart
• T.V.O. by Carlos Castillo
• The Electric Disco Chicken by Bob Goodness
• Tous Les Garcons by Yves Laberge
• Tre Per Eccesso by Giampierro Vinciguerra
• Uno Para Todos, Todos Para Todos by Carlos Castillo

  Awards

Official awards

• Palme d'Or: Człowiek z żelaza by Andrzej Wajda
• Grand Prix: Les Années lumière by Alain Tanner
• Best Screenplay: István Szabó for Mephisto
• Best Actress: Isabelle Adjani for Quartet and Possession
• Best Actor: Ugo Tognazzi for La tragedia di un uomo ridicolo
• Best Supporting Actress: Yelena Solovey for Faktas
• Best Supporting Actor: Ian Holm for Chariots of Fire
• Best Artistic Contribution: Excalibur by John Boorman

• Caméra d'Or: Desperado City by Vadim Glowna

• Short Film Palme d'Or: Moto Perpetuo by Béla Vajda
• Jury Prize: Le Rat by Elisabeth Huppert & Zea by André Leduc

  Independent awards

• Malou by Jeanine Meerapfel
• Mephisto by István Szabó

• Technical Grand Prize: Les Uns et les Autres for the sound quality

• Prize of the Ecumenical Jury: Man of Iron by Andrzej Wajda
• Ecumenical Jury - Special Mention: Chariots of Fire by Hugh Hudson & Looks and Smiles by Ken Loach

• Looks and Smiles by Ken Loach
• Neige by Juliet Berto and Jean-Henri Roger

  Media