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Cannes Film Festival
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The
Cannes Film Festival (French: le Festival de Cannes),
founded in 1946, is one of the world's oldest,
most influential and prestigious film festivals
alongside Venice and Berlin. The private festival
is held annually (usually in the month of May)
at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès,
in the resort town of Cannes, in the south of
France.
The
61st Annual Cannes Film Festival was held between
14 and 25 May 2008.
The
Festival
The
Programmes
The
Cannes Film Festival is organised in various sections:
*
The Official Selection - The main event of the
festival.
o In Competition - The twenty films competing
for the Palme d'Or. They are projected in the
Théâtre Lumière.
o Un Certain Regard - Twenty films selected from
cultures near and far; original and different
works. They are projected at the Salle Debussy.
o Out of Competition - These films are also projected
in the Théâtre Lumière but
do not compete for the main prize.
o Special Screenings - The selection committee
chooses for these films an environment specially
adapted to their particular identity.
*
o Cinéfondation - About fifteen shorts
and medium-length motion pictures from film schools
the world over are presented at the Salle Buñuel.
o Short Films - The shorts competing for the Short
Film Palme d'Or are presented at the Buñuel
and Debussy theatres.
* Parallel Sections - These are non-competitive
programmes dedicated to discovering other aspects
of cinema.
o Cannes Classics - It celebrates the heritage
of film, aiming to highlight works of the past,
presented with brand new or restored prints.
o Tous les Cinemas du Monde - It showcases the
vitality and diversity of cinema across the world.
Each day, one country is invited to present a
range of features and shorts in celebration of
its unique culture, identity and recent film works.
o Caméra d'Or - It rewards the best first
film of the Festival, choosing among the debutants'
works among the Official Selection, the Directors'
Fortnight and the International Critics' Week
selections.
o Cinéma de la Plage - Screening of Cannes
Classics and Out of Competition films for the
mass public on Macé beach, preceded by
a programme dedicated to film music.
* Other Sections - Produced by outside organizations
during the Cannes Festival.
o Directors' Fortnight
o International Critics' Week
* Events
o Marché du Film - The busiest movie market
of the world.
o Masterclasses - Given in public by world renowned
filmmakers.
o Tributes - Honors internationally renowned artists
with the presentation of the Festival Trophee
following the screening of one of their films.
*
o Producers Network - An opportunity to make international
co-productions.
*
o Exhibitions - Each year, an artist, a body of
work or a cinematographic theme becomes the focus
of an exhibition that diversifies or illustrates
the event's programme.
o 60th Anniversary - Events organised in 2007
dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the Festival.
The Juries
Prior
to the beginning of each event, the Festival’s
board of directors appoints the juries who hold
sole responsibility for choosing which films will
receive the blessing of a Cannes award. Jurors
are chosen from a wide range of international
artists, based on their body of work and respect
from their peers.
*
Feature Films - An international jury composed
of a President and various film personalities
, who determine the prizes for the feature films
in Competition.
* Cinéfondation and Short Films - Composed
of a President and four film personalities. It
awards the Short Film Palme d'Or as well as the
three best films of the Cinéfondation.
* Un Certain Regard - Composed of a President,
journalists and industry professionals. It awards
the Un Certain Regard Prize for best film and
can, moreover, honour two other films.
* Caméra d'Or - Composed of a President,
as well as film directors, technicians and French
and international critics. They reward the best
first film in any selection.
The Awards
The
most prestigious award given out at Cannes is
the Palme d'Or ("Golden Palm") for the
best film.
*
Competition
o Palme d'Or - Golden Palm
o Grand Prix - Grand Prize of the Festival
o Prix d'interprétation féminine
- Best Actress
o Prix d'interprétation masculine - Best
Actor
o Prix de la mise en scène - Best Director
o Prix du scénario - Best Screenplay
o Prix du Jury - Jury Prize
o Palme d'Or du court métrage - Best Short
Film
* Other Sections
o Prix Un Certain Regard
o Cinéfondation prizes
o Caméra d'Or
* Given by Independent Entities
o Prix de la FIPRESCI - International Federation
of Film Critics Prize
o Vulcain Prize' - Awarded to a technical artist
by the C.S.T.
o International Critics' Week Prizes
o Prize of the Ecumenical Jury
History
The "Palais des Festivals" (2000).
At
the end of the 1930s, shocked by the interference
of the fascist governments of Germany and Italy
in the selection of films for the Mostra de Venise[3],
Jean Zay, the French Minister of National Education,
decided to create an international cinematographic
festival in France, on the proposal of Philippe
Erlanger and the support of the British and Americans.
Many towns were proposed as candidates, as Vichy,
Biarritz or Algiers, although finally Cannes was
the chosen one; thus, Le Festival International
de Cannes was born.
In
June 1939, Louis Lumière agreed to be the
president of the first festival, set to be held
from 1 to 30 September 1939. The German attack
on Poland on 1 September 1939, followed by the
declaration of war against Germany by France and
the United Kingdom on 3 September, ended the first
edition of the festival before it got to start.
The
festival was relaunched after the War in 1946,
in the old Casino of Cannes, financed by the French
Foreign Affairs Ministry and the City of Cannes.
Although the initial spirit of the French festival
was to compete with its Italian counterpart, a
secret agreement took place between both nations,
so that they will celebrate their international
festivals in alternating years. The first Cannes
Festival had a considerable success, so when the
Franco-Italian agreement was made public it was
heavily criticised and considered as a "capitulation
of France".
The
next year, in 1947, the festival was held again
as the Festival du film de Cannes, dropping the
international nature, but only in name, as films
from sixteen countries were presented. Moreover,
the principle of equality was introduced, so that
the jury was to be made up only of one representative
per country. Also, this year the festival was
held at the made-for-the-occasion Palais des Festivals,
although the roof was unfinished and blew off
during a storm.
The
festival was not held either in 1948 or 1950 on
account of budgetary problems, offering no competition
to the Venetian festival those years. In 1951,
owing to better relations between France and Italy,
the Cannes Festival was moved to Spring, while
the Mostra remained in Autumn.
In
1955 the Golden Palm was created, replacing the
Grand Prix du Festival which had been given until
that year. In 1959 the Marché du Film (Film
Market) was founded, giving the festival a commercial
character and facilitating exchanges between sellers
and buyers in the film industry. Today it has
become the first international platform for film
commerce.
In
1962 the International Critics' Week was born,
created by the French Union of Film Critics as
the first parallel section of the Cannes Film
Festival. Its goal was to showcase first and second
works by directors from all over the world, not
succumbing to commercial tendencies. In 1965 an
hommage was paid to Jean Cocteau after his death,
and he was named Honorary President for life.
The next year, Olivia de Havilland was named the
first female president of the festival.
The
1968 festival was halted on 19 May 1968. Some
directors as Carlos Saura or Milos Forman had
withdrawn their films from the competition, and
on 18 May, filmmaker Louis Malle along with a
group of directors took over the large room of
the Palais and interrupted the projections in
solidarity with students and labour on strike
throughout France, and in protest to the eviction
of the then President of the Cinémathèque
Française. The filmmakers achieved the
reinstatement of the President, and they founded
the Film Directors' Society (SRF) that same year.
In 1969 the SRF, led by Pierre-Henri Deleau created
the Directors' Fortnight, a new non-competitive
section that programs a selection of films from
around the world, distinguished by the independent
judgment displayed in the choice of films.
During
the 1970s, important changes occurred in the Festival.
In 1972 Robert Favre Le Bret was named the new
President, and Maurice Bessy the Managing Director.
He immediately introduced an important change
in the selection of the participating films. Until
that date, the different countries chose which
films would represent them in the festival. Bessy
created one committee to select French films,
and another for foreign films. In 1978 Gilles
Jacob assumed the President position, introducing
the Caméra d'Or award and the Un Certain
Regard section. Other changes were the decrease
of length of the festival down to thirteen days,
reducing the number of selected films thus; also,
until that point the Jury was composed by Film
Academics, and Jacob started to introduce celebrities
and professionals from the film industry.
In
1983 a new, much bigger Palais des Festivals et
des Congrès was built to host the Festival.
It was nicknamed "The Bunker" and provoked
many reactions against it]. In 1984 Pierre Viot
replaced Robert Favre Le Bret as President of
the Festival.
It
wasn't until 1995 that Gilles Jacob created the
last section of the Official Selection: la Cinéfondation.
Its aim was to support the creation of works of
cinema in the world and to contribute to the entry
of the new scenario writers in the circle of the
celebrities. The Cinéfondation was completed
in 2000 with La Résidence and in 2005 L'Atelier.
Meanwhile, the Festival would obtain its current
President, Gilles Jacob, in 2000, and in 2002
officially adopted the name Festival de Cannes.
Impact
The
festival has become an important showcase for
European films. Jill Forbes and Sarah Street argue
in European Cinema: An Introduction, that Cannes
"became...extremely important for critical
and commercial interests and for European attempts
to sell films on the basis of their artistic quality"
(page 20). Forbes and Street also point out that,
along with other festivals such as Venice and
Berlin, Cannes offers an opportunity to determine
a particular country's image of its cinema and
generally foster the notion that European cinema
is "art" cinema.
Additionally,
given massive media exposure, the non-public festival
is attended by many movie stars and is a popular
venue for film producers to launch their new films
and attempt to sell their works to the distributors
who come from all over the globe.
*
Evening in Byzantium (1978). The film festival
is overtaken by terrorists. Directed by Jerry
London and starring Glenn Ford and Eddie Albert.
From a novel by Irwin Shaw.
* Almost Perfect Affair (1979). A romantic comedy
about an affair between a filmmaker and a producer's
wife, set during the film festival. Starring Keith
Carradine.
* An Egyptian Story (1982). Egyptian director
Youssef Chahine portrayed his anxiety about appearing
at the Cannes Film Festival with his film Nile
Boy.
* La Cité de la peur (1994). Comedy. Directed
by Alain Berberian. Starring Alain Chabat, Chantal
Lauby, Gérard Darmon.
* Grosse Fatigue (1994). Comedy.
* "Cannes Man" (1996). A comedy staring
Seymour Cassel as a producer who makes a bet that
he can turn a random nobody into the next big
sensation at the festival.
* Festival in Cannes (2001). Entertainment industry
farce about filmmakers trying to make deals during
the Cannes Film Festival. Directed by Henry Jaglom
and starring Greta Scacchi, Maximilian Schell
and Ron Silver.
* Searching for Debra Winger, a 2002 documentary
film in which Roseanna Arquette interviews a number
of actresses attending the Cannes Film Festival
the year before.
* All the Love You Cannes! (2002). A documentary
about Troma Entertainment's annual pilgrimage
to take on "elitist media conglomerates"
at the Cannes Film Festival. Directed by Lloyd
Kaufman, Gabriel Friedman, and Sean McGrath. Features
film directors Quentin Tarantino and Claude Chabrol.
* Femme Fatale (2002). After pulling off a risky
heist during the Cannes Film Festival, Laure double-crosses
her partners and tries to disappear by assuming
the identity of a dead woman. Directed by Brian
De Palma and starring Rebecca Romijn and Antonio
Banderas.
* Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007). Mr. Bean is accused
of kidnapping the son of a judge and travels to
the film festival to return him to his father,
but ends up ruining the screening of one of the
films and instead shows clips of his home movies
which match the voice-over. This earns the film
a standing ovation. Starring Rowan Atkinson.
* Bienvenue a Cannes (2007). "The Cannes
Film Festival celebrates 60 years." Turner
Classic Movies produced documentary.
Cannes
on Television
*
The HBO show Entourage featured the Cannes film
festival in the finale of their 4th season. The
movie Medellin was screened in the season finale.
(Credit:
Wikipedia).
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