A still from Salvo

A still from Salvo

The first Cannes awards were handed out Thursday night by the Critics’ Week sidebar.

Italian film ‘Salvo’ won the top prize at the 52nd Critics’ Week. Set in modern Sicily, Salvo is about a romantic relationship between a hitman and the sister of someone he’s murdered. The movie has received good reviews and grabbed two awards.

The Discovery prize for short film was awarded to German film, ‘Come and Play’ by Daria Belova. The Society of Authors, Directors and Composers Award for best screenplay was given to ‘Le Demantlement’ by Sebastien Pilote.

Swedish film ‘Pleasure’ by Ninja Thyberg won the Canal+ Award. Indian feature ‘Dabba (Lunchbox)’ by Ritesh Batra won the Grand Rail d’Or, which is an independent award given by railway worker film enthusiasts.

The program’s jury was led by Portuguese director Miguel Gomes, and also included Dennis Lim, program director at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, Neil Young, co-director of the International Film Festival Bradford, and journalists Alin Tasciyan and Alex Vicente.