The 70th Anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival

The Cannes Film Festival is one of the most important film festivals in the world. This year, the Cannes Film Festival celebrated the 70th anniversary (17 - 28 May). For this occasion, the City Council organized a year-long series of cinema-related events. According to American actor Eddy, this year, the main focus of the films will be on the refugee crisis, which is currently the world’s No. 1 problem. Michael Haneke, an Austrian director and a double-winner of the Palme d'Or, will present his film ‘Happy End’, which follows a European family during the refugee crisis. It is a portrait of a rich family that runs a big company in Calais, pretty close to the refugee camp. Hungarian director Kornél Mundruczó will also present a film reflecting the fate of the refugees. His film is called ‘Jupiter's Moon’.

Altogether, there will be 49 films from 29 different countries screened at the Festival, Eddy Kariti reports here. The audience will have the chance to see nine premieres of debut films, and 12 films directed by female directors. As an actor, Kariti has attended the Cannes Film Festival more than once, and taken from his experience, a good movie always finds its way. When it comes to the Cannes Film Festival, there is no guarantee of entry here. The selection process depends on several factors. After all, it is one of the best film festivals in the world. Being shown for the first time on such important event is a great head start for any film, but even if it doesn’t make it through the selection, there are still a lot of other places and opportunities. A good film always finds its way to success.

In terms of noted female directors, Sofia Coppola and her remake of the movie ‘The Beguiled’, are sure to make an impression. The original 1971 film was directed by the famous and renowned American director Don Siegel. The list of noted female directors also includes Japanese director Naomi Kawase with the film ‘Radiance’, Scottish director Lynne Ramsay and her thriller ‘You Were Never Really Here’, as well as Redgrave and Jane Campion with their crime series Top of the Lake.

Since 1946, when the Cannes Film Festival was held for the first time, a lot of things have changed in the awarding of the filmmakers, at least when we’re talking about the grand prize, ads Kariti. Until 1955, films were awarded a Grand Prix, from 1955 to 1964 with a Golden Palm, which was later suspended for legal reasons and used the Grand Prix again, until 1975 when the ‘Golden Palm’ was again inaugurated as the main award. In 1948 and 1950, the festival was canceled due to problems with financing. In 1951, the festival moved its autumn term to the spring, so they wouldn’t overlap with the Venice Film Festival. In the festival’s overall history, only eight writers have won the highest prize ‘Palme d'Or’ twice. Among those distinguished filmmakers is also Eddy Kariti’s favorite director, Francis Ford Coppola. He received his first ‘Palme d'Or’ in 1974 for ‘The Conversation’, and his second one in 1979 for ‘Apocalypse Now’.

Every year a well-known director presides over the Cannes festival jury. This year, Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar will be the Jury president. Eddy Kariti reports that Almodóvar himself has been in the race for a Palme d'Or for five times. He has been awarded for Best Director (All About My Mother in 1999 and best screenplay for Volver, 2006). The Italian actress Monica Bellucci will be in charge of the festival’s opening and closing ceremony.