Almodóvar
film wins two Cannes prizes but not the Palme d'Or

Jurors at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival awarded PedroAlmodovar'sVolver best screenwriting and best actress awards but gave the festival's top prize, the Palme d'Or, to Ken Loach's The Wind That Shakes the Barley.Set in La Mancha, Volver depicts the rich culture of the Spanish region through the story a mother's death and her return to her family as a ghost. "My movie is about family among other things, a family of women," Almodovar said as he accepted his screenwriting award.

Just as his All About My Mother was considered by many to be the frontrunner for the Palme d'Or in 1999, Volver was this year's favored film. Almodovar said after the ceremony, "To be the favorite until the end, I would like to tell you it is a curse--a maldicion." But he added, "It doesn't mean I am complaining. The script is the base of the movie."

The best actress award was presented to the film's ensemble female cast including Penelope Cruz, Yohana Cobo, Lola Duenas, Carmen Maura, and Blanca Portillo. Honoring her director, Penelope Cruz said, "I think this award really belongs to Pedro, to the master."Other notable awards presented at Cannes include the Grand Prix, which went to Bruno Dumont's Flanders, and the best director award, which went to Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu for Babel. The ensemble male cast of Indigenes by Rachid Bouchareb won the award for best actor.(The Advocate)