Everything to know about the Cannes Film Festival 

Cannes Film Festival again has proved itself to be a world center of art and  creativity. Read the article to catch up with the updates.

The whole month was about people talking about films and art and that’s obvious as the Cannes Film Festival came with an opportunity for it. It’s that one event that seems unmissable for cinema enthusiasts. The prestigious festival of Cannes has also crossed the mark of 75 years since the first event was held in 1946. It’s that time of the year when art and cinema take the center stage and shine in their way. It’s the festival that makes sure that art finds a way to our minds and hearts and with having a list of brilliant films and documentaries screened this year, it did make a way to our heads and hearts. This year, Cannes celebrated art and artists in the most glamorized way possible. We had a number of Indian pieces that were screened at the festival and getting global recognition on such a platform has truly moved us all. Anurag Kashyap’s “Kennedy” also received a 7-minute long standing ovation at the event. Some of us might have recently discovered their love for art and cinema and want to know more about the Cannes Film Festival. Here we have tried to take you through a few things that you should know about the festival. 

Historical significance and how did it start? 

Art has always done the job of activism by acting as a mirror of society but did you know that the same thought gave birth to the most famous film festivals of all time? When the world was between wars, people in power used to try their best to have a grip on the media. The Cannes Film festival was started to oppose the idea of Venice Film festival that was being biased at that time by simply pushing and promoting the propaganda films that supported the Nazi ideologies. The Cannes Film festival which was known as the International film festival was started in 1939 but unfortunately it took several years before it could be held officially in 1946. Earlier, it was kind of an invite-only event, held to encourage and give recognition to filmmakers. Though it started in 1946, it wasn’t till the 1950’s when the festival actually started gaining international recognition when big stars started showing up at it. At that time, the networking between the filmmakers was held secret until the Cannes Film market became official in 1959.  But who came up with the idea of Cannes? The idea came from the French Association of Artistic Action Director (AFAA), Philippe Erlanger, and the film critics, Emile Vuillermoz and Rene Jeanne. 

Things to know about the Palm d’Or trophy

Palm d’Or (Golden Palm) was created in 1955 and is considered to be one of the highest honors to be earned by a filmmaker. It is also called the Grand Prix. Every year, the award is given to the winner and there are a lot of interesting things to know about it. At first, the organizers of the event invited a number of jewelers to finalize the design of the trophy out of which a Parisian jeweler, Lucienne Lazon won. The design of the trophy changed over the years. Since 1997, a Swiss company, Chopard, has been responsible for making the award which is made with 18-carat gold. Each year, the company makes two awards in case there are two winners.

Representation of Indian Films at Cannes 

The relationship between the Indian cinema and the Cannes festival started long before you can even imagine. It all started in 1946 when Chetan Anand’s “Neecha Nagar” shared the top award, Grand Prix du Festival International du Film, with David Lean’s “Brief Encounters” while Bimal Roy’s “Do Bigha Zamin” won the award in 1954. Mrinal Sen was the first ever Indian to be a part of the Jury at the festival in 1982. Over the years, names like Vidya Balan, Nandita Das, Sharmila Tagore, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Shekhar Kapur, and Arundhati Roy have also been a part of the prestigious jury of the festival. A number of films have been screened here and the list includes gems like Devdas, The Lunchbox, Bombay Talkies, Monsoon Shootout, Massan, Gangs of Wasseypur, All That Breathes etc. To show the tribute to the country’s 75 years of diplomatic relations, India was the ‘country of honor’ in the Cannes Market of Cinema last year. 

Winners at Cannes 2023 

French courtroom thriller, “Anatomy of a Fall” by Justine Triet took the Palme d’Or for best film at the Cannes Film festival 2023 which makes her the third woman director to win Cannes’ top honor.  

The best actor prize was received by Japanese acting legend Koji Yakusho for his phenomenal role in Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days, where he plays the role of a toilet cleaner. Merve Dizdar received the honor of best actress for her role as Nuray, a rural school teacher. 

Aki Kaurismäki, a Finnish director won the Cannes jury prize for his romantic comedy “Fallen Leaves”.

Vietnamese-born filmmaker, Tràn Anh Hùng received the best director award for a period foodie drama, “The Pot-Au-Feu”

Filmmaker Roger Corman and Quentin Tarantino presented the runner-up Grand Jury prize together to “The Zone of Interest”, which is a bracing holocaust movie from Jonathan Glazer. 

“Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell” by Vietnamese writer/director Thien An Pham, received the prize for the best first film while the prize for the best short film went to director Flóra Anna Buda for “27”

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