Cannes Film Festival

The Cannes Film Festival, held each year in the French Riviera city of Cannes, is widely regarded as the world’s most prestigious film festival. It showcases new films across all genres, including documentaries, and is an invitation-only event that typically takes place in May at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès. First launched in 1946, the festival received formal accreditation from the FIAPF in 1951. It is counted among the "Big Three" European film festivals—alongside Venice and Berlin—and is also one of the "Big Five" international festivals, which includes Venice, Berlin, Toronto, and Sundance.

The early years

The festival’s roots trace back to 1938, when French Minister of National Education Jean Zay, historian Philippe Erlanger, and film journalist Robert Favre Le Bret proposed creating an international film festival. The idea gained support from American and British figures. On 31 May 1939, Cannes was chosen over Biarritz and Nice, and the city, together with the French government, signed the official birth certificate for the International Film Festival, named Le Festival International du Film.

This creation was largely a response to the Venice Film Festival, then the only international film festival, which had displayed fascist leanings. In 1937, Benito Mussolini interfered to prevent the French pacifist film La Grande Illusion from winning. The tipping point came in 1938, when Mussolini and Adolf Hitler overruled the jury’s decisions, awarding the Coppa Mussolini for Best Film to the Italian war film Luciano Serra, Pilot (produced under Mussolini’s son’s supervision) and the Coppa Mussolini for Best Foreign Film to Olympia, a German documentary about the 1936 Berlin Olympics produced with the Nazi Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda—despite rules disqualifying documentaries. Outraged, French, British, and American jury members withdrew, vowing not to return, which spurred France to establish its own festival.

Cannes was selected for its appeal as a tourist destination on the French Riviera and because its city hall agreed to increase financial support and build a dedicated venue. Hollywood stars including Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, Tyrone Power, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Marlene Dietrich, Mae West, Norma Shearer, Paul Muni, James Cagney, Spencer Tracy, and George Raft arrived via an ocean liner chartered by MGM. The opening night gala on 31 August featured a private screening of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. But on 1 September, German troops invaded Poland.

The festival was postponed for ten days, hoping to resume if possible. The situation worsened; on 3 September, France and the UK declared war on Germany, sparking World War II. The French government ordered general mobilization, and the festival was cancelled.

The event was revived in 1946, running from 20 September to 5 October at the former Casino of Cannes, with 21 countries presenting films. In 1947, it was held as the "Festival du film de Cannes," featuring films from 16 countries, though efficiency problems plagued it.

The festival was cancelled in 1948 and 1950 due to budget issues. In 1949, the Palais des Festivals was built on the La Croisette seafront, though its unfinished roof blew off during a storm. In 1951, the festival moved to spring to avoid clashing with the Venice Festival in autumn.

1950s and 1960s

During the early 1950s, the festival drew heavy tourism and press attention, fueled by showbiz scandals and high-profile romances, while its artistic side began to grow. Controversies over film selections led to the creation of the Critics' Prize for original and daring filmmakers. The Special Jury Prize was first awarded in 1954, and the Palme d'Or replaced the Grand Prix du Festival in 1955. In 1957, Dolores del Río became the first female jury member for the official selection.

The Marché du Film (Film Market) launched in 1959, giving the festival a commercial dimension and becoming the first international platform for film trade. Nevertheless, in the 1950s, some notable films—such as Night and Fog (1956) and Hiroshima, My Love (1959)—were excluded from competition for diplomatic reasons. Jean Cocteau, who served three times as jury president, remarked, "The Cannes Festival should be a no man's land in which politics has no place. It should be a simple meeting between friends."

In 1962, the French Union of Film Critics created the International Critics' Week, the festival’s first parallel section, aimed at showcasing first and second works by directors worldwide, free from commercial pressures. Olivia de Havilland became the first female jury president in 1965, followed by Sophia Loren in 1966. The 1968 festival was halted on 19 May after directors like Carlos Saura and Miloš Forman withdrew their films. On 18 May, filmmaker Louis Malle and a group of directors took over the main hall of the Palais, stopping screenings in solidarity with striking students and workers across France.