5 Strikingly Interesting Facts About Festival de Cannes!
Cannes Film Festival, the most anticipated international film gathering has made the whole world go pitter-patter with its glamorous stage. From actors gracing the red carpet in elegant outfits to keeping the audience’s heart pumping to see the Palme d’Or winner, France is still blowing up the internet with some arresting moments. What about taking a walk through the aisle of Cannes history to glance at some interesting facts?
The Squeaky Clean Red Carpet
Have you ever wondered how the red carpet remains squeaky clean throughout the day? Well! The red carpet at the Festival de Cannes gets changed three times a day to make it look sparklingly red for the celebrities to grace the carpet with their dazzling looks. This has been infuriating green campaigners around the world.
First film Festival Was Halted by WW2
Cannes Film Festival, previously known as Festival International Du Film, was first set to be held in 1939, but unfortunately, the festival got delayed by the Second World War. The invasion of Poland by Germany sprouted chaos all around, and the festival was able to begin only after six long years, in 1946. Later in 1968, the film festival was again halted halfway due to the political protests led by Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut.
Holy Mountain Controversy
In 1973, Holy Mountain by Alejandro Jodorowsky sparked discomfort among the audience, leading to controversy. The movie contains extremely disturbing violence and a plethora of sacrilegious images. The point of the movie is to make it all pointless, the religion and mysticism are crafted as meaningless illusions.
First Indian Film To Shine At Cannes
Neecha Nagar directed by Chetan Anand is the first ever film to garner the prestigious Grand Prix award at Cannes in 1946. The movie revolves around a wealthy, malicious man named Sarkar who lives on the top of a mountain and the villagers in the valley who struggle with the sewage directed towards them by Sarkar’s project. From the worsening epidemic to the movement against Sarkar, the movie is woven with striking themes.
Palme d’Or
Palme d’Or is the most prestigious award given at the Cannes Film Festival. Before 1955, the most prestigious prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International Du Film. This breathtaking trophy was handcrafted out of jewelry by Chopard in 1998. Delbert Mann was the first person to receive a Palme d’Or for his movie Marty.