May 14, 1964 - “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” the French musical in color, was awarded the Grand Prix of the 17th Cannes Film Festival tonight. It is the story of two teenage lovers who are separated by family differences and war. The picture was directed by Jacques Demy, a fledgling filmmaker. All the dialogue is sung to a score by Michel Legrand. Its stars are two youthful beginners, Catherine Deneuve and Nino Castelnuovo.
The jury’s selection of “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” as the festival’s best film has surprised and angered many persons at the festival. The Italians and the Russians have made pointed remarks about the committee membership. Five of the 11 judges are French.
Informed sources report, however, that the jurors were divided over two films, the Italian “Seduced and Abandoned,” and a Brazilian film, “Black God and White Devil.” “Umbrellas” was chosen as a compromise, both jury factions refusing to give ground on their favorites.
The special jury prize went to the Japanese film, “Woman of the Dunes,” directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara. It is about a professor who is imprisoned with a woman in a house at the bottom of a sandpit, where the two are put to the labor of interminable shoveling.
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