Stars of screen, music and catwalk help Cannes close in style

May 27, 2007May 27, 2007, 11:00 PM GMT+1

Gorgeous Hitch actress Eva Mendes and her co-star Joaquin Phoenix were among the last famous faces launching films at the Cannes Film Festival, as their fellow thespians began to wind down at a series of ultra-glamorous parties on Friday. The pair promoted their new crime drama We Own The Night, also featuring screen veteran Robert Duvall, before letting their hair down at the Dolce and Gabbana party where Eva slipped out of her black frock and into a flowing leopard-print number - perfect for the 'glamorous' theme.

Also at the Italian fashion house's glittering bash were a host of its fans, including singers Kylie Minogue and Jamelia, not to mention a generous model count led by Czech beauty Petra Nemcova. The other big event of the night was the Chopard Trophy party, where Elton John performed and Jude Law handed out breakthrough actor and actress of the year gongs to rising young talents. They were US star Nick Cannon for his work on Bobby and fellow Brit Archie Penjabi who first shot to the limelight in Bend It Like Beckham.

The glitzy bash attracted a roll call of famous faces including former Bond girl Rosamund Pike and Naomi Campbell who changed outfits three times during the evening as she attended various shindigs across town. The biggest film honours were reserved for Sunday's ceremony, however, where hard-hitting Romanian entry 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days won the coveted Palme d'Or for best film, chosen by a jury which included British director Stephen Frears and Australian actress Toni Colette.

The best director honour went to Julian Schnabel for the moving French film The Diving Bell And The Butterfly, while best actress was awarded to Jeon Do-yeon for South Korean movie Secret Sunshine. The Jury Prize was shared between Mexican flick Silent Night and animated Iranian film Persepolis.

Jane Fonda, meanwhile, was "overwhelmed" as she was recognised with a surprise lifetime achievement award - which has only been presented on three previous occasions. "You are a woman who fights and wins," festival chief Gilles Jacob told the 69-year-old Monster-In-Law actress.

Gladiator actor Joaquin and his co-star Eva were still on duty on Friday as they debuted their crime thriller We Own The Night at the world-famous film festPhoto: © Getty Imagesy

Jude later handed out gongs to rising talents Archie and Nick at the Chopard party where Elton performed for the star-studded crowdPhoto: © Rex

Cristian Mungiu is given the festival's top award, the Palme d'Or for his winning Romanian film by Jane - who herself picked up a lifetime achievement honourPhoto: © Getty Images

Sign up to Off Camera for all the gossip and goings-on from the wonderful world of TV and film

By entering your details, you are agreeing to HELLO! Magazine User Data Protection Policy. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information, please click here.