!['Palme d'Or whisperer': Tiny US distributor Neon wins fifth straight Cannes prize](https://www.berlinertageblatt.de/media/shared/articles/93/e3/6b/-Palme-d-Or-whisperer---Tiny-US-dis-061270.jpg)
-
Chinese qualifier Shang to face Thompson in ATP Atlanta semis
-
Concern grows as Venezuela blocks election observers
-
'Massive attack' on French rail threatens more chaos
-
'We did it!': France breathes sigh of relief after Olympics ceremony
-
Blinken, in Laos, set for talks with Chinese foreign minister
-
Regional concern grows as Venezuela blocks vote observers
-
Historic river parade, Dion show-stopper ignite Paris Olympics
-
Rainy Paris Olympic parade dampens many spectators' spirits
-
G20 pledges to work together to tax ultra-rich
-
The one of a kind Paris opening ceremony: five memorable moments
-
Justin Timberlake seeks to dismiss DUI case
-
Warner Brothers Discovery sues NBA over Amazon rights deal
-
Kobe Bryant locker, Maradona jersey up for auction in New York
-
Historic river parade launches Paris Olympics
-
Stocks rise as US inflation data boosts rate cut hopes
-
New York family of Holocaust victim reclaims Nazi-looted art
-
NASA Mars rover captures rock that could hold fossilized microbes
-
Thousands evacuate season's biggest wildfire in northern California
-
Sinaloa Cartel co-founder pleads not guilty after stunning US capture
-
Ethiopia mourns victims of landslide tragedy
-
Lady Gaga adds sparkle to star-studded Olympic show
-
Airbus and Boeing supremacy secure despite turbulence
-
Teams sail down Seine in rain-soaked Olympics opening ceremony
-
Norris hoping for more after topping Belgian practice times
-
West Indies' treble strike rocks England in third Test
-
Trump slams rivals as he meets Netanyahu in Florida
-
Olympic opening ceremony under way on River Seine
-
Mott's England future uncertain as ECB chief fails to offer support
-
Trump meets Israeli PM Netanyahu in Florida
-
S.African police say 95 Libyans detained at suspected military camp
-
Blinken set for talks with Chinese counterpart in Laos
-
Norris heads Piastri in McLaren one-two at Belgian GP practice
-
G20 seeks common ground on taxing super-rich
-
European medicines watchdog rejects new Alzheimer's drug
-
Harris gets vital Obama backing in battle against Trump
-
Habib, Ebden eye Alcaraz and Djokovic shocks at Olympics tennis
-
Stocks rise as inflation data boosts rate cut hopes
-
Long queues, ticketing problems ahead of Paris opening ceremony
-
Two Sinaloa Cartel leaders face US charges after stunning capture
-
Spain train driver jailed for 2.5 years over deadly 2013 crash
-
Paris poised for Olympic opening ceremony spectacular
-
Judoka fails doping test in first case at Paris Olympics
-
Holder and Da Silva keep England at bay after West Indies collapse
-
Alpine F1 boss Bruno Famin to leave in August
-
Ethiopia declares three days of mourning after landslide tragedy
-
Brazilian dunes dotted with dazzling pools make UNESCO heritage list
-
Rain, cooling slow huge blaze in Canada's Jasper park
-
French Rugby's Jaminet suspended 34 weeks after racist video: Federation
-
Osaka looking to turbo-charge comeback at Paris Olympics
-
Stock markets climb as US inflation rate drops
!['Palme d'Or whisperer': Tiny US distributor Neon wins fifth straight Cannes prize](https://www.berlinertageblatt.de/media/shared/articles/93/e3/6b/-Palme-d-Or-whisperer---Tiny-US-dis-061270.jpg)
'Palme d'Or whisperer': Tiny US distributor Neon wins fifth straight Cannes prize
A tiny movie distributor founded seven years ago has won at the Cannes Film Festival for a stunning fifth consecutive time on Saturday.
Neon, a New York-based indie movie outfit, has been dubbed "the Palme d'Or whisperer", for a track record that turns the world's most powerful movie producers green with envy.
"Parasite", "Titane", "Triangle of Sadness" and "Anatomy of a Fall" -- the last four winners in Cannes -- were all released in US theatres by Neon, under deals struck before they won the prize.
And they did it again on Saturday with "Anora", US indie director Sean Baker's raw and often-hilarious story about a New York erotic dancer who strikes gold with a wealthy client.
"Palme d'Or X five. Merci, Cannes," the company posted on social media, adding a photo of five-time NBA basketball champion Kobe Bryant.
Neon purchases -- and more recently, has produced -- movies that it then distributes to theatres, as well as running marketing and awards campaigns for the films.
It bought North American rights to "Anora" weeks before Cannes kicked off, in a move that will now only accelerate the company's soothsaying reputation.
Last week, just days after its director secretly escaped from Iran, Neon also snapped up "The Seed of the Sacred Fig", which won a special jury prize on Saturday.
That film -- about a family's struggles amid political unrest in Tehran -- was made by Mohammad Rasoulof, who fled an Iranian prison sentence for "collusion against national security" days before Cannes kicked off.
- Weinstein, Chan -
Neon founder Tom Quinn had spent decades working in indie films with producers including Harvey Weinstein, before deciding to branch out on his own.
In 2016, he struck a deal with China's Sparkle Roll Media, fronted by screen legend Jackie Chan.
Their first film was "Colossal", an oddball sci-fi starring Anne Hathaway.
Neon was officially launched the following year. Critical success soon came with ice-skating comedy "I, Tonya", which won an Oscar for star Allison Janney.
Following the election of Donald Trump as United States president, Chinese investors swiftly departed, replaced by Texas billionaire Dan Friedkin.
But film-buying remained in the hands of Quinn, who had worked for years and on multiple films with South Korean director Bong Joon-ho.
"It didn't matter what he was going to do next -- it was going to be a Neon film," Quinn said in a recent interview.
"We were going to go for broke, and pre-buy it," he told "The Town" podcast.
That film turned out to be "Parasite", the stunning, genre-hopping drama about a poor family infiltrating a rich family's home, which became a sensation.
Not only did it win the Palme d'Or in 2019, but it went on to become the first non-English-language film to win best picture at the Oscars.
Since then, Cannes has proven to be a happy hunting ground for Neon, which has grown to around 55 staff.
Neon bought body horror "Titane" almost two years before it won the 2021 Palme d'Or.
And the company won bidding wars for both "Triangle of Sadness" and "Anatomy of a Fall" immediately following their Cannes premieres, but before the prizes were unveiled.
Named after an ephemeral gas that glows when captured inside a glass tube, the company caught lightning in a bottle again Saturday.
K.Thomson--BTB