Last night the Festival de Cannes paid tribute to Jean-Paul Belmondo by dedicating a special evening to him whereby he was awarded a Palme d’or. The screening of a documentary, a meal and a party was the order of the evening to celebrate the actor.

"I am very moved by this Palme d’or which has touched my heart". Jean-Paul Belmondo, surrounded by his acting colleagues, including his "pals from the Conservatory" Jean Rochefort, Pierre Vernier and Jean-Pierre Marielle, received wide acclaim from audiences and directors alike, who were present yesterday in the Debussy Theatre. "I'd like to thank all those here today, people I know or don't know. A big thank-you from the bottom of my heart".
Earlier in the day, "the international photographers had laid down their cameras in order to applaud him on the red steps" recalls Thierry Frémaux who explained: "We had been trying to persuade him to accept this tribute for several years".

Regardless of the film genre he acted in, Belmondo, who won a César in 1989 for his performance in Itinéraire d’un enfant gâté directed by Claude Lelouch, has worked with the biggest directors. "He already has a long history with the Festival", with 6 films In Competition, in which he appears. His cinematic and theatrical career has been retraced in the documentary, that was screened yesterday and which was dedicated to him, Belmondo, itinéraire… directed by Vincent Perrot and Jeff Domenech.
Today, the tribute continues with screenings of Stavisky directed by Alain Resnais in Cannes Classics and with Magnifique directed by Philippe de Broca in Cinéma de la Plage.