Before Cannes 2014, to suggest ‘Winter Sleep’ would take the prestigious Palme D’Or back to Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s native Turkey would have been a leftfield choice. But after the second day screening of the 3 hour 16 minute film, the destination of this year’s prize was known to some with 9 days of the festival left to run.

Nuri Bilge CeylanNuri Bilge Ceylan picks up the prestigous Palm D'Or

The movie centres on a family running a hotel in the snow-capped Turkish mountains, gently peeling away at the psychology behind the father character as he deals with family and business crises alike. In his acceptance speech, Ceylan noted that “This year is the 100th year of Turkish cinema, and it’s a good coincidence I think. I want to dedicate the prize to the young people of Turkey,” and, referring to the  11 deaths in antigovernment protests that began in May 2013, said: “especially those who lost their lives during the last year.”

Elsewhere, another expected win was handed out: Timothy Spall for his turn as the painter J.M.W Turner in Mike Leigh’s hugely popular biopic, ‘Mr. Turner’. Leigh’s superb film was touted as a possible Palme D’Or winner, but no one begrudged the eventual winner its spoils. And Spall was, by all accounts, the worthiest of winners. 

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"Actors are divided into two camps: Those who get the good-looking, wish-fulfilment parts and then the supporting actors like me who get the real-life roles. I've been lucky enough to have many of them, but there are not many prizes to be had in a supporting position,” Spall told the BBC after his win. "Finally though, with Mr Turner, it feels like someone has made me into a leading actor - albeit an ugly one."

The full list of the Campion Jury winners:

Palme d’Or: Winter Sleep, directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Grand Prize: Le Meraviglie (The Wonders), Alice Rohrwacher

Best Director: Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher

Jury Prize: Mommy, Xavier Dolan, and Adieu au langage, Jean-Luc Godard

Best Screenplay: Andrey Zvyagintsev, Oleg Negin, Leviathan

Best Actress: Julianne Moore, Maps To The Stars

Best Actor: Timothy Spall, Mr. Turner