Cannes film festival: where it all started
On September 20, 1946, the opening of the first Cannes film festival took place, which was organized in the city of Cannes (France) and ended on October 5. Despite the fact that this event is the first in a series of annual film festivals held on the Promenade de la Croisette, the first screening of films was supposed to take place in 1939.
The initiators of the new event were the writer and diplomat Philippe Erlanger, as well as Jean Élie Paul Zay, who headed the French Ministry of education. Since the Venice festival was influenced by the Nazi regime in the pre-war years (in 1938, a delegation from Germany pressed the jury to give the main award to a German film), it was decided to find an alternative, and the choice fell on Cannes.
However, the 1939 Cannes film festival did not fully take place, although on August 29 they managed to demonstrate the American film "Hunchback of Notre Dame". All the films included in the list were reviewed in 2002, and the winner was Cecil Blount DeMille's Union Pacific, awarded the Palme d'or. In the post-war years, the organizers faced several serious problems, in particular, the luxury resort - a place where films are shown and awards are held - has not yet been restored after the fighting. However, difficulties did not prevent the implementation of the plan, and in the second half of September 1946, full-length and short films brought from all over the world were presented to the public.
The initiators of the new event were the writer and diplomat Philippe Erlanger, as well as Jean Élie Paul Zay, who headed the French Ministry of education. Since the Venice festival was influenced by the Nazi regime in the pre-war years (in 1938, a delegation from Germany pressed the jury to give the main award to a German film), it was decided to find an alternative, and the choice fell on Cannes.
However, the 1939 Cannes film festival did not fully take place, although on August 29 they managed to demonstrate the American film "Hunchback of Notre Dame". All the films included in the list were reviewed in 2002, and the winner was Cecil Blount DeMille's Union Pacific, awarded the Palme d'or. In the post-war years, the organizers faced several serious problems, in particular, the luxury resort - a place where films are shown and awards are held - has not yet been restored after the fighting. However, difficulties did not prevent the implementation of the plan, and in the second half of September 1946, full-length and short films brought from all over the world were presented to the public.
Photo © www.festivaldesabbayes.fr
Photo © www.festivaldesabbayes.fr
Photo © www.festivaldesabbayes.fr
