The festival
Founded in 1946 and held each May on the French Riviera, Cannes is among the most prestigious and influential film festivals in the world. Its top prize, the Palme d'Or, has been awarded since 1955.
Worth knowing
Cannes has been a major launchpad for Asian cinema, with Palme d'Or winners including Japan's Hirokazu Kore-eda for 'Shoplifters' (2018) and South Korea's Bong Joon-ho for 'Parasite' (2019), the first South Korean film to take the award. A strong Cannes reception often shapes an Asian film's international profile.
How to attend
The main festival is an industry and press event rather than a public one, though a parallel Cannes Cinéphiles program and public screenings offer some access to local audiences.
Awards & submissions
Cannes’ Official Selection is built around the In Competition lineup, whose films vie for the Palme d’Or awarded by an international jury, alongside the Grand Prix, Jury Prize and prizes for direction, screenplay and performances; the Un Certain Regard section spotlights more distinctive and emerging work. Two independent parallel sections, the Directors’ Fortnight and International Critics’ Week, run at the same time with their own selection committees. Entry to the Official Selection is highly competitive: films are submitted to the festival for consideration through its official channels, but the final lineup is chosen by the festival’s selectors and is effectively by invitation. Cannes runs the Marché du Film, the world’s largest film market, in parallel. While the core festival is a press and industry event, the Cannes Cinéphiles programme and various public screenings offer some access to local audiences on the Riviera each May.
Official site →Dates and programs change year to year — check the official site for the current edition.