Woman director tipped to win Cannes with German comedy

By Fiachra Gibbons, AFP Stars gathered Sunday for the glittering awards ceremony at the Cannes film festival, with a hilarious German comedy favorite to win the Palme d’Or and make its director only the second woman ever to lift the prize. If — as critics predict — Berlin-based Maren Ade triumphs with “Toni Erdmann” about an uptight executive trying to deal with her off-the-wall prankster father, she would also be the first German to win since Wim Wenders in 1984 for “Paris, Texas”. The only woman to have won the Palme was Jane Campion in 1993 for “The Piano”. But with Cannes juries notorious for confounding expectations in previous years, nothing was certain. After nearly two weeks of stars, scandals and some stirring films at the world’s most important cinema showcase, the nine-member jury led by “Mad Max” creator George Miller sat down to decide the winners at lunchtime on Sunday. Romanian director Cristian Mungiu [...]