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France prepares for more drama this May, as its Cote d’Azur beaches host the 70th Cannes Film Festival. As the festival begins its film screenings, one story is dominating all Cannes headlines. Can Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke win his third Palm d’Or and become the Festival’s greatest auteur?
Opening it’s 2017 Cannes Palm d’Or market, Paddy Power, which holds a 4/5 performance rating on Bookmaker Ratings, has priced Haneke’s ‘Happy End’ as 3/1 favourite to win world cinema’s most prestigious award.
A European cinema powerhouse, Haneke is renowned for his socially reflective and emotionally impactful films. Debuting ‘Happy End’ at Cannes, Haneke tells the story of French middle-class family in Calais who are drawn into the chaos of the ongoing European refugee crisis.
Leading Haneke’s chasing pack is Russian divorce drama ‘Loveless’ by Andrey Zvyagintsev, priced at 9/2 by Paddy Power. A surprise to many will be American director Todd Haynes children’s fantasy tale ‘Wonderstruck’, which is currently market third favourite at 5/1.
Greek Surrealist and former Grand Jury Prize winner (2015) Yorgos Lanthimos returns to Cannes with ‘The Killing of a Sacred Deer’, which Paddy Power has priced as a 9/1 outsider.
Issuing a cheeky market note, Paddy Power spokesperson Paddy Power commented: “No, I don’t know much about films, but I Cannes see a clear winner of the Palm d’Or. However, maybe I’m just buying into nominative determinism of its title – in any case, Happy End by Michael Haneke is our favourite.”
Paddy Power Cannes Palm d’Or 2017
