Here's a quick guide to Cannes and What Happens Where:


History and structure

The inaugural Cannes Film Festival was held in September 1939, but it was not held again until after World War II.

The event moved to April during the 1950s and the Palme d'Or prize was introduced in 1955.

The festival established itself during the 1960s, and has since secured its status as the world's most prestigious.

It is made up of seven major sections: In Competition, Out of Competition, Un Certain Regard, Cinefondation, Critics' Week, Directors' Fortnight and Marche du Film.

In Competition

Films screening In Competition are nominees for the Palme d'Or prize. About 20 feature films compete each year for the coveted prize. A win can have a huge impact at the box office.
Cannes is the most prestigious film festival

The films make up the main part of the Official Selection which is screened in the Lumiere theatre.

Past winners of the Palme d'Or have included Michael Moore (Fahrenheit 9/11) in 2004 and Roman Polanski (The Pianist) in 2002.

Out of Competition

A number of other feature films are also shown Out of Competition. These are usually films the Festival feels deserve a screening at Cannes, but cannot justify a position in the official programme.

Out of Competition films in the past have included world premieres, such as George Lucas's Star Wars Episode II.

Footage of works in progress from respected film-makers are also shown Out of Competition, such as Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York in 2002.

Festival side events

Un Certain Regard was set up in 1978 to act as a showcase for world cinema and to absorb several festival side events.

It is the main showcase section of the festival and there are no awards or prizes.

Cinefondation was added to the festival in 1998, and presents about 15 short films selected by the festival from around the world.

The Cinefondation has its own jury, and there are three awards for the best films in the section.

Critics and Directors

Critics' Week was set up in 1962 - making it the oldest of the festival side events - and is run by the Union of French Film Critics.

It has acted as a launch-pad for new film-makers from around the world, who compete for the prestigious Grand Prix.

Directors' Fortnight was established in 1968 to avoid the strikes which closed down the festival that year.

It is traditionally the most radical of the Cannes sub-sections, and is open to both feature-length and short films.

Marche Du Film

Wheelers and dealers of the film world flock to the Marche du Film - or The Film Market - which is the largest event of its kind in the world.

At the market, films are bought and sold, and foreign rights are traded.

Films do not have to be selected to be in the market and it is open to anyone who pays the registration fee to buy or sell a film.

The Palais, which was built in 1983 to accommodate the ever-expanding festival, plays host to the event.


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Cannes - what happens where



PALAIS DES FESTIVALS

This is the central venue for the film festival and all the competition screenings take place here, at the Lumiere theatre. About 20 feature films compete each year for the coveted Palme d'Or. Winning the trophy can make a big difference at the box office, although past winners have frequently proved controversial. The new Palais opened in 1983, the festival having outgrown its original location on La Croisette, now the site of the Noga Hilton Hotel.

The red-carpeted entrance to the Lumiere is where the photographers gather to snap the celebrities as they arrive for official screenings, in the hope of getting that front page picture.


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THE BEACH


The iconic image of Cannes is Brigitte Bardot pictured in a bikini on the beach in 1953. Her appearance is credited with making the two-piece an acceptable form of swimwear, as well as sparking a wave of copycat photo opportunities. In 1954, little-known actress Simone Silva tried to outdo Bardot by whipping off her top during a Robert Mitchum photo call. Cinema de la Plage is where open-air screenings take place for the general public. It is also the site of the International Village - Riviera: a series of white pavilions built on the seaward side of the Palais des Festival/Riviera complex. Countries such as Canada, Germany, Switzerland and South Africa have their bases here, as does the UK Film Centre.


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LA CROISETTE


This is where the actors and would-be stars like to be seen strolling in their designer outfits or driving in their open-top limousines. It is also where some of the most expensive hotels in Cannes are to be found - although these days any really big names are likely to be staying a few miles down the coast at the Hotel du Cap-Ferrat. It was here, in 1956, that British actress Diana Dors upstaged her Hollywood co-star Ginger Rogers, who apparently got out of their shared cadillac and disappeared into the hotel unnoticed by the paparazzi.


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MARCHE DU FILM


The Marche du Film, or Film Market, is held at a number of locations, including the Palais, the Star Cinema, Les Arcades and The Olympia. It is where the "wheelers and dealers" meet to buy and sell scripts and trade rights for all the films that are not in competition. Its continued growth is the reason that Cannes remains such a big name in the festival world. Since 1994, the number of films shown at the marche has more than doubled from 435 to 900 in 2006. It was officially inaugurated in 1959, before then it had been running unofficially in the cinemas of Rue d'Antibes.


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CRITICS' WEEK AND DIRECTOR'S FORTNIGHT


Critics' week and Director's Fortnight, showcases for films considered too offbeat for the main competition, are held at a number of locations including, respectively, the Espace Miramar and Noga Hilton Hotel. Critics' week, created in 1962 at the instigation of the Union of French Film Critics, is seen as a launch-pad for new film-makers, who compete for the Grand Prix. In May 1968 the festival coincided with mass student demonstrations against the government. After calls from film-makers Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Lelouch, Louise Malle and Milos Forman, the festival was shut down. The following year Director's Fortnight was added to the programme.


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OLD PORT


The luxury yachts in the old port form the expensive backdrop for many festival parties. The Palme d'Or triumph of Italian director Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita in 1960 was the cue for a re-creation of one the film's most famous scenes - a poolside party. It ended with dozens of women in evening gowns jumping into the pool. The International Village - Pantiero is also located in the old port. It was set up to host the many professional bodies and institutions from the French film industry and related businesses.