Cannes is here. The 76th Cannes International festival had begun on May 16 and will conclude on May 27. Now that we are talking about Festival De Cannes, the international film festival is more than just a star-studded red carpet event. Let us tell you that Cannes is just as important as Oscars where filmmakers, actors, producers and other industry insiders assemble to celebrate cinema.
Here’s a general guide that you should check if you want to explore the Cannes festival:
What is Cannes Film Festival?
The Cannes International Film Festival is held annually in the month of May in Cannes, France. The venue of the event is Palais des Festivals et des Congrès (Palace of Festivals and Conferences), the convention centre located near French Riviera in Cannes. Founded in 1946, it was formerly known as the International Film Festival until 2003. The 12-day-long prestigious festival comprises of screenings, jury meetings, networking, red carpet event and of course, after party.
Sections of the movie screenings
Cannes fest boasts of several sections for movie screenings including Compétition (Competition), Hors Compétition (Out of Competition), Courts Métrages (Short Films), Un Certain Regard, La Cinef (formerly Cinéfondation) and Cannes Premiere. The film festival also features Séances Spéciales (Special Screenings), Midnight Screenings, Cannes Classics and others.
How are films selected?
Every year, Cannes appoints a selection committee which reviews films being submitted to the Cannes. According to a magazine, Backstage, around 2,000 films are submitted every year from which, the committee picks about 50 feature films and 10 short films.
Highest award at Cannes
Palme d’Or (Golden Palm) is the top most award which is presented to the director of the best feature film of the year by the jury at Cannes. Filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino, Bong Joon-ho, Michael Haneke, Abdellatif Kechiche, and Jacques Audiard have won the Golden Palm awards at the film festival. Apart from this award, Grand Prix (Grand Prize), Prix du Jury (Jury Prize), and Palme d’Or du court métrage (Best Short Film) are also presented at the event.
Who can attend the film festival?
The Cannes International Festival is generally restricted to accredited individuals including journalists and film industry insiders. In other words, most of its venues are not open for general public. While film professionals can apply for access to events at all the festival venues, employees of film companies can attend the Marché du Film.
Many celebrities attend Cannes as brand ambassadors for international brands. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who is a regular at Cannes, has been attending the event for over two decades. Most of her Cannes appearances were as the brand ambassador of L’Oreal.
This year, Manushi Chhillar has walked the red carpet for her association with Walkers & Co. Urvashi Rautela has attended it as a part of the photo call launch for her upcoming project, which is reportedly an upcoming biopic of late actress Parveen Babi. Sara Ali Khan made her Cannes debut as a guest of Vanity Fair and the Red Sea Film Festival.
Reportedly, the price of the ticket varies from $6100 (₹5 lakh) to $25000 (₹25 lakh).
For the ones, who are not a part of the film world, those folks can watch film screenings free of cost at Directors’ Fortnight and the Cinéma de la Plage (Beach Cinema) from 9.30 pm. Apart from them, the residents of Cannes are allowed to attend the fest after they apply for cinephiles’ accreditation.
Thank us later.
