CANNES - A FESTIVAL VIRGIN'S GUIDE
Festival Structure
By Benjamin Craig
"In Competition", "Out of Competition", "Official Selection", "Critics' Week", "Directors' Fortnight", "the Market"... having been the first film festival to develop sidebar events, to the casual observer Cannes now appears to be a bit of a confusing mess. In reality, there are actually four organisations overseeing ten major sections that comprise what is commonly referred to as the "Cannes Film Festival".
Compétition
The competition is the festival's main event and this is where you'll find all the glamour and glory. Films screening in this section are referred to as being "in competition" and vie for an assortment of awards. The Holy Grail is of course the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) for best picture, one of the most prestigious film awards on the planet. Winning the Palme d'Or generally gives the film a massive lift: for art-house films, it can bring in millions of extra dollars at the international box-office, for foreign films it means worldwide distribution. Historically, the competition has only been open to narrative films, although occasionally a documentary is slipped in (such as Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" which won the top prize in 2004). The competition welcomes both features and shorts, and there are different awards in each category.
Hors Compétition
"Out of Competition". Not strictly an official section per se, the festival's practice of screening films out of the competition line-up has been around since the very beginning. Over the years, films screened have tended to be special events or films which did not necessarily meet the criteria for entering the competition. More recently, the festival has also found that this practice enables them to screen films which bolster the big-name presence in Cannes without compromising the artistic values of the main competition.
Un Certain Regard
Created in 1978 to absorb several ambiguous sidebars, Un Certain Regard is now the main showcase section of the festival and is intended to be a "survey of current world cinema". Historically there were no awards attached to Un Certain Regard, but in recent years the festival has created the Prix Un Certain Regard to help the best film in the sidebar achieve distribution in France. Occasionally other awards are made in this section as well.
Cinéfondation
Added in 1998, Cinéfondation is the festival's competition for short and medium-length films made at film schools around the world. The Cinéfondation sidebar has its own jury and there are three awards (which include a cash prize) for the best films in this section.
Cannes Classics
Inaugurated in 2004, the Cannes Classics sidebar is a showcase section which centres on screening a selection of new or restored prints of classic films, tributes to foreign cinema, documentaries on filmmaking, and occasionally rare or rediscovered footage of from days gone by.
Tous les Cinémas du Monde
Literally, "All Cinemas of the World", this new sidebar was added in 2005 as a showcase section to present a programme of films from selected countries which have historically had a low cinema output. Each day during the festival, Tous Les Cinéma du Monde focuses on one country, presenting a range of films which "reflect its cultural identity and the uniqueness of expression". Films are screened in the 170-seat temporary Cinéma du Monde theatre, located in the Village International Pantiero.
Semaine Internationale de la Critique (SIC)
"International Critics' Week". Founded in 1962 by the Syndicat Français de la Critique de Cinéma to focus on the work of new filmmakers, the Critics' Week is the oldest of the festival sidebars. The International Critic's Week comprises a competition for around 14 features and shorts from first and second-time filmmakers, and a programme of special screenings. Films are selected by a panel of international film critics, appointed by the SIC, and cash prizes are awarded for the best film in each category.
Quinzaine des Réalisateurs
"The Directors' Fortnight". Created in 1968 by a group of French filmmakers to present films in a forum which was free from politics, censorship and elitism, the first Directors' Fortnight kicked off along side the festival in 1969, and the two events have co-existed for nearly 40 years. Today the sidebar occupies a slightly-higher profile at the festival than the Critics' Week, due mainly to a larger selection of films.
Marché du Film
"The Film Market" or simply, the "Cannes Market", is the largest event of its type in the world. As the name suggests, it's the nuts and bolts end of the festival in which the movie industry gets together to do business: primarily the buying and selling of films. The Market is not prestigious - it's a tradeshow open to anyone who is looking to buy or has something to sell - and it's attended by around 10,000 film industry professional each year. There are also special programmes for producers (Producers Network) and short filmmakers (Short Film Corner).
For the full run-down on the structure of the Cannes Film Festival, make sure you pick up a copy of Cannes - A Festival Virgin's Guide.