History of the Cannes Film Festival – Part II

Posted by Larry Gleeson

The Cannes Film Festival, till 2003 known as the International Film Festival, is an annual movie pageant held in Cannes, France, which previews new movies of all genres, together with documentaries, from throughout the world and is broadly thought-about the most essential pageant in the world in phrases of influence. As such, a five-part collection on the Cannes Film Festival is underway with the publishing of Part I.

Since 1946, Cannes has hosted the 12-day International Film Festival, the place a jury of worldwide expertise decides on the awards for the greatest movies of the yr. An official competitors takes place in the coronary heart of the well-known Palais des Festivals and attracts the consideration of the world throughout the opening ceremony and the presentation of the Palme dOr.

The second first Festival in 1946

The International Film Festival was born in the heady environment of the finish of World War II, marking the starting of a serious episode in world cinema.

Hope in the first years after the struggle

Official poster of the 1st Cannes Film Festival illustrated by Leblanc[

Back in July of 1945, in a France devastated by the war, Philippe Erlanger who was at the origin of the first, aborted initiative put the idea forward again to the new director of French cinematography.

But the French State and the municipality of Cannes could no longer afford such an expense. The necessary funds were raised through a public subscription, making this first festival possible.

In September 1946, in a festive atmosphere and despite a series of technical problems, this first festival kicked off a long golden era that made Cannes and its festival the place to be for all filmmaking countries.

Discoveries and revelations in contemporary cinema

The first Cannes Film Festival introduced the entire world to Italian cinema and its neorealism.

The rise of a new generation of filmmakers was not to the liking of the people at the Ministry who were in charge of making the selections, but films by these young auteurs quickly gained ground.

The Festival contributed to the discovery of cinemas that were relatively unknown in Europe, although there were doubts as to the jurys objectivity, given certain diplomatic agreements.