The Cannes film festival
Friday, 17th April 2009
Founded in 1946, the Cannes film festival is one of the oldest and most prestigious film festivals in the world.
The festival was born as a result of circumstances of that era. The decision to host a new ‘international cinematographic festival in France’ by French minister of national education, Jean Zay, was in response to the interference of the fascist governments of Italy and Germany in the selection of films for the Mostra del cinema di Venezia - the most important international film festival of that time. Several towns were considered when deciding where the festival should be held, including Vichy, Biarritz and Algiers, although obviously the honour was finally bestowed upon the upmarket coastal resort of Cannes.
The private festival takes place annually (usually during the month of May) at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, and attracts huge media attention. It is an opportunity for the filmmakers of all nationalities and generations to showcase their work, and of course, a chance for the rich and famous to be ‘seen’!
The 62nd festival will take place from 13—24 May 2009, and will see French actress Isabelle Huppert take the helm as President of the Jury.
Although there are many components to the festival, the highlight of the festival each year is the announcement of which picture has won the coveted ‘Palme d’Or’, the highest prize awarded to competing films at the festival. Previous winners have included such well-known and universally acclaimed films as The Piano (1993), Pulp Fiction (1994), The Pianist (2002) and Farenheit 9/11 (2004). Unlike the Oscars, it is very common for foreign language films to win the award - counted amongst the winners over the last decade are: Rosetta (1999), Dancer in the Dark (2000), La Stannza del Figlio (2001), L’Enfant (2005), 4 luni, 3 saptamâni si 2 zile (2007) and Entre les Murs (2008).
French language courses are available in nearby Nice and Antibes, and should you do a course there in May, taking a trip over to Cannes would definitely be worth your while!
Tags: french, festival, france, film, cinema
Posted by Laura Harrison under Experience Cultures,
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