After 11 days of red-carpet glamour and movie screenings from dawn to dusk, the 68th Cannes Film Festival has come to a close.
Fashion was as ever at the forefront of the glamorous film festival as the stars of East and West converged on the stunning Riviera.
Models including Kendall Jenner, Lara Stone and Cara Delevigne rubbed shoulders with stars of Hollywood and world cinema including Michelle Rodriguez, Salma Hayek, Chinese actress Fan Bingbong and Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.
In an interview with IBTimes UK, Aishwarya, who has been attending the prestigious film festival, both with her movies as a jury member and as an ambassador for cosmetics giant L'Oreal, for the past 13 years, described how the experience of the Cannes Film Festival embodies a life in film.
"Its nice to experience the Cannes platform with a lot of my colleagues and friends that I have got to know over the years. It's a celebration of creative expression in movies. And I am interested in every aspect of filmmaking, be it acting, directing or lighting. I feel this is where I am meant to be, to express myself creatively."
The former model who won the Miss World beauty contest in 1994 and quit her architecture degree to shoot her first film "Iruvar", said that contrary to popular belief, she had consciously chosen to pursue a career in films.
"A career in showbiz is sometimes judged because it is glamorous, as an inclination and not a career choice and that is something I've always tried to say throughout my career. That this is my career choice and it has definitely been a conscious decision. If I chose to put my architecture career on hold and chose this as a career option I have worked with that integrity and that work ethic in all these years."
The actress is one of few Indian stars to win prominent roles in US and British films such as "The Pink Panther" with Steve Martin and Gurinder Chadha's "Bride and Prejudice". After a four-year break from films she is currently shooting for her next movie, Sanjay Gupta's thriller "Jazbaa", which also stars "Life of Pi" actor Irrfan Khan. Aishwarya said she is happy with her journey in film so far.
"I am glad of the journey taken because that's brought me to where I am today and I'm glad if I had a certain vision and I made the choices accordingly it has fructified in the way that I did. If I did take risks, I believe in the strength of no. I did walk away from a lot of very fruitful opportunities, but I did take a look at the larger picture and thought those choices would bring incredible commercial success or probably have a different career trajectory but I am very, very content personally with where my professional standing or my relationship with my audience is today."
The actress was a star attraction on the red carpet, winning admirers following a series of spotlight-stealing appearances. The actress also shared a day in her life at Cannes on social media as she took over the L'Oreal Paris Twitter account for a day. "Jazbaa" is scheduled to release in October.
The winners of the coveted Palm d'Or took centre stage to receive their awards.
French film "Dheepan" was the big winner with director Jacques Audiard taking the top prize. The thriller highlights the plight of traumatised refugees attempting to rebuild their lives after suffering loss and displacement.
The second-place prize went to Hungarian director for "Saul Fia" (Son of Saul) while Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos' film "The Lobster" won third-place prize.
Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien won the best director award for "Nie Yinniang" (The Assassin)
France's Vincent Lindon won best actor for French director Stephane Brize's film "La Loi du Marche" (The Measure of a Man).
Rooney Mara for her role in Todd Haynes' "Carol" and French actress Emmanuelle Bercot in French director Maiwenn Besco's "Mon Roi" (My King) were joint recipients of the best actress prize.
Colombian director Cesar Augusto Acevedo was given the Camera d'Or prize for best film for "La Tierra y la Sombre" while Mexican writer-director Michel Franco won for his film about an end-of-life nurse played by Tim Roth who grapples with assisted suicide when he becomes close to his patients.
British actress Sienna Miller who was selected to be part of the Cannes jury took her final walk on the red carpet with fellow jurors Joel Coen, Xavier Dolan and Rossy de Palma.
The 33-year-old stunned in a powder blue dress with a full, flowing skirt and a camisole-style top, at the red carpet premiere for "Le Glace Et Le Ciel" (Ice and Sky) and the official closing ceremony on Sunday evening.
Full List of Winners at 68th Cannes Film Festival
Palme d'Or: "Dheepan", directed by Jacques Audiard
Grand Prix: "Son of Saul", directed by Laszlo Nemes
Best Director: Hou Hsiao-Hsien for "The Assassin"
Best Actor: Vincent Lindon for "The Measure of a Man"
Best Screenplay: "Chronic", written by Michel Franco
Camera d'Or (Best First Feature): "La Tierra y la Sombre", directed by Cesar Acevedo
Best Actress: Rooney Mara for "Carol" and Emmanuelle Bercot for "Mon Roi" (Shared Prize)
Palme d'Or (Short Film): "Waves '98", directed by Ely Dagher
Jury Prize: "The Lobster", directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
