Terrence Malick takes the spotlight at Cannes

FilmAnnex American director, Terrence Malick won the Palme d'Or prize for best picture at the 64th Cannes Film Festival.

The Tree of Life is a metaphysical drama about a Texas family during the 1950s, starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn. This story is also about a boy's childhood and disillusioned young years to find the meaning of life.

Born in the 1940s, Malick has had a successful career for the last four-decades and directed five feature films. His career officially set off after earning an MFA from the AFI controversy in 1969 with Lanton Mills. He has been nominated for an Academy Award for both Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director for The Thin Red Line and is often considered to create masterpieces.

If you're a fan of Malick's work, we suggest you check out Gerrardo Panichi's documentary Rosy-Fingered Dawn: A Film on Terrence Malick which draws a powerful and honest portrait of Malick while focusing on his films, Badlands, Days of Heaven,The Thin Red Line and the idea of 'true' American Culture.

Panichi's documentary explores the narrative aspects that inspired Malick to create his films. The testimonies of Sam Shepard, Arthur Penn, Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek, Sean Penn, Jim Caviezel, Elias Koteas, Ben Chaplin, John Savage, Penny Allen, and Haskell Wexler represent the contradictions in American culture that Malick is best known for. It is through Malick's noted imagery, we see the moments and experiences that shape our lives as individuals and families.