Cannes, France / founded in 1946
Launched in May
Cannes is the most prestigious (although not the oldest) film festival on the planet. It is extremely difficult to get here, but the opportunity, as practice shows, always remains. An inexperienced director can’t seriously count on making it into the main programs (In Competition, Un Certain Regard, Special Screenings, Out of Competition Section), but the lower-ranking programs – Cinéfondation (student film), Short Film Competition – are relatively accessible. In addition to those mentioned above, a parallel program, Directors’ Fortnight, begun by the French Film Directors Guild back in 1969, became extremely popular and at times no less interesting than the main competition.
The most prestigious festival, of course, also had time to acquire a major film market. In 2014, more than 11,000 professionals came to France, representing about 5,000 companies from 116 countries. 5,200 films were presented at the market, 960 of which were screened (in most cases, premieres).