Kaurismäki 's most acclaimed film has been '' The Man Without a Past '' , which won the Grand Prix and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language Film category in 2003 . However , Kaurismäki refused to attend the Oscar ceremony , asserting that he did not feel like partying in a country that was in a state of war . Kaurismäki 's next film '' Lights in the Dusk '' was also chosen to be Finland 's nominee for best foreign-language film , but Kaurismäki again boycotted the awards and refused the nomination , as a protest against U.S. President George W. Bush 's foreign policy . In 2002 Kaurismäki also boycotted the 40th New York Film Festival in a show of solidarity with the Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami , who was not given a US visa in time for the festival
2002 Cannes Film Festival
2002 Cannes Film Festival
Aki Kaurismäki