T
his most influential cinema festival in Europe is known for its spirit of freedom – it was founded as a counterbalance to the Venice International Film Festival, at the time fully controlled by the Mussolini government. The Cannes Festival operates like a separate country with its own law and government, citizens and awards. Here, the awards ceremonies have in the past been gloriously over-the-top, roofs have literally been lifted, history-making connections have been made, and feet have been kissed, and it is from here Ukrainian heritage reaches Hollywood.
Perfect Conditional
The first Cannes Film Festival, scheduled to take place on 1-20 September 1939, could have been historic for several reasons – not least because Louis Lumière, inventor of the cinematograph, who wanted to “encourage the development of film art in all its forms” was to preside over the jury. Or because a transatlantic liner ordered by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer brought a whole constellation of Hollywood’s top stars such as the Oscar-winning Gary Cooper, Norma Shearer, and Paul Mooney to the festival. Or because Victor Fleming’s The Wizard of Oz, starring 16-year-old beauty Judy Garland, was among the films selected for screening… Well, it could have been historic… if World War II hadn’t erupted on 1 September 1939, delaying the festival’s opening for seven long years. This, however, was not the only frustrating experience. In 1948 and in the 1950s, the festival failed to happen due to a lack of funds. And in 1968, it did open, but was halted due to a wave of strikes throughout France… Now, let’s go back to the first festival and see how it all started.
CANNES 2013: MINI PROFILE Dates of the 66th Cannes festival: 15-26 May 2013. Website: www.festival-cannes.fr. Jury President: Steven Spielberg (ET, Jaws, Indiana Jones, Schindler’s List, Lincoln). Short Film Jury President: Jane Campion. Opening Film: The Great Gatsby by Australian director Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge) based on the famous novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, and Tobey Maguire. The poster of the 66th Film Festival pays tribute to the memory of Paul Newman, deceased five years ago. It is based on a frame from A New Kind of Love (1963), depicting a kiss between actors and real-life married couple Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman. The first film by this couple premiered in Cannes in 1958 – the year of their marriage. India is the guest country at the 2013 Cannes Festival. It coincides with Indian cinema’s 100 th anniversary celebration next year. Grand Prix: Palme d’Or, created in honour of the palms on Cannes’ coat-of-arms. The Palme was awarded in 1955-1965 and annually since 1975. Since 1997, the award has been made by Swiss jewellery house Chopard as a complement to the festival. Cast of 24-karat gold, it is fixed on a single-piece crystal pedestal. Festival media: 4,500 journalists and hundreds of photographers from 1,000 accredited print and 600 web publications will be covering the festival, along with 300 TV channels, 200 news agencies and 150 radio stations. This scale can be rivalled perhaps only by a major sporting event in Europe!
Maybe This Time
When the “second first” festival finally came to pass in 1946, the jury awarded the Grand Prix to as many as 13 films at once, with Roberto Rossellini’s Rome, Open City, the first neo-realist film, among them. However, not all went smoothly at this début event. The main venue, Palais Croisette was far from complete as its construction began only four months before the festival. Gigantic
plants placed around the building’s interior masked unfinished areas; a cacophony of drills and hammers accompanied the orchestra’s solemn music throughout 13 days of the festival. While guests could ignore all of this, the fact that a hurricane tore off the building’s unfinished roof forced hosts to move the awards ceremony to the municipal casino. It’s for the better that since 1955, the festival is held in spring, as storms don’t happen as often at this time of year. The modern Palais des Festivals et des Congrès with its famous and oft-photographed 24 steps first opened its doors 40 years ago,
Цьогорічний кінофестиваль відкриє стрічка “Великий Гетсбі” австралійського режисера База Лурмана The Great Gatsby by Australian director Baz Luhrmann will open this year’s festival
Стівен Спілберг – голова журі кінофестивалю-2013 Steven Spielberg will head the Cannes 2013 jury
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