Cannes is the most glamorous film event in the world, every year this select tourist destination in France receives important figures for the film industry in order to project globally the seventh art supporting and publicizing quality works that will help to evolve the cinema.
This festival is part of the Class A film festival circuit according to the International Federation of Film Producers Associations and is one of the three most important festivals along with Berlin and Venice. Thus, every year the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès becomes the home of world cinema for twelve days, welcoming actors, directors, and producers who parade along the Boulevard de La Croisette until they reach the palace that was built in 1949 to host this festival and has a capacity of 25,000 spectators.
Due to the sanitary measures taken by COVID-19 the 2021 edition was cancelled and the 2022 edition becomes the first edition held in its full splendor since 2019.
As one of the most important and recognized festivals in the film industry, its objective is to publicize and support charitable works to promote the evolution of cinema and to foster the development of the film industry in the world by projecting the seventh art internationally. The films that are part of the official section are evaluated by critics and the public.
Each year it is held for twelve days in the second half of May and since it is an international festival, films, short films and works from all over the world can participate and seek to be awarded the highest award. This festival is an opportunity for the kind of cinema that normally does not have the public legacy that commercial or Hollywood cinema has.
The festival is dedicated to awarding films that have not yet been released and that will be seen there for the first time and are the result of the choice of a very rigorous jury. They have to pass a very strict filter.
Among the prizes awarded by this festival is the following
Palme d’Or or Golden Palm
It is the most important prize at Cannes and one of the most valuable in the world. It functions almost like a seal of quality and distinguishes the best feature film in the competition. It has a great influence, so much so that it makes the winning film one of the favorites, from the critics and other awards, such as the Oscars.
Receiving this award increases the film’s chances of being shown in thousands of theaters around the world.
This award is also given to the best short film of the festival.
Among the winners of this award are films such as Bong Joon-ho’s ‘Parasites’, Lars von Trier’s ‘Dancer in the Dark’ and Roman Polanski’s ‘The Pianist.
Among the contenders for this year’s Golden Palm are films such as: Ali Abbasi’s ‘Holy Spider’, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi’s ‘Les Amandiers’, Claire Denis’s ‘Stars at Noon’, David Cronenberg’s ‘Crimes of the Future’.
Grand Prix
The second most important and prestigious award of this festival, after the Palme d’Or, is given to a film in the official selection in the competition each year.
Films such as Spike Lee’s ‘BlacKkKlansman’, Zhang Yimou’s ‘To Live’, and Park Chan-wook’s ‘Oldboy’ are on the list of winners.
Prix du Jury or The Jury Prize
Chosen by the Jury from the “official section” of movies at the festival and recognizes an original work that embodies the spirit of inquiry. ‘The Mystery of Picasso’ by Henri-Georges Clouzot, ‘Les Misérables’ by Ladj Ly, and ‘Memoria’ by Apichatpong Weerasethakul are among the winners.