Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Film Festival (French: le Festival international du film de Cannes or simply le Festival de Cannes) is the world's most prestigious film festival, first held from September 20, 1945 to October 5, 1946 in the resort town of Cannes, in the south of France. Since then, it has been held annually in May with a few exceptions.
Given massive media exposure, the non-public Festival is attended by many movie stars and is a popular venue for movie producers to launch their new films and attempt to sell their works to the distributors who come from all over the globe.
The most prestigious award given out at Cannes is the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) for the best film; this is sometimes shared by multiple films in one year. The jury of the festival, made of a small international selection of movie professionals, however grants other awards, include the "grand prize" (the second most prestigious award).
The 59th Cannes Film Festival, will be held on May 18, 2006. The famous Hong Kong director, Wong Kar-Wai, will be the president of the jury for feature films. He is also the first Chinese president in the Festival's history. Wong Kar-Wai has won the Best Director award in 1997 for the film Happy Together.
Awards
Feature films
- Grand Prix
- Prix de la mise en scène (Won this year (2006) by the director of Babel)
- Prix du Jury
- Prix du scénario (Won this year (2006) by Pedro Almodovar for Volver)
- Prix d'interprétation féminine du Festival de Cannes (Won this year (2006) by the cast of Volver including Penelop Cruz)
- Prix d'interprétation masculine du Festival de Cannes (Won this year (2006) by the cast of Indigènes)
- Prix un certain regard
Short films
- Palme d'Or du Festival de Cannes - court métrage
- Prix du Jury - court métrage
Related topics
Cannes portrayed on film
- 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.
- La Cité de la peur (1994). Comedy. Directed by Alain Berberian. Starring Alain Chabat, Chantal Lauby, Gérard Darmon.
- Grosse Fatigue (1994). Comedy.
- 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.
- 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.
Gallery
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Starlets posing for photographers are a part of Cannes folklore.
External links
- Official sites
- Other sites
- Cannes - A Festival Virgin's Guide — resources and information for festival attendees.
- The Cannes Film Festival Blog
- Cannes Film Festival: A Potted History
- Cannes Film Festival — historical timeline