The Cannes Film Festival takes place every year in May. The first festival took place in 1946. Originally it was named the International Film Festival but in English it has always been referred to as the Cannes Film Festival, after the town in southern France where it takes place.
Previews of new films are held at the festival but these fall into all genres including documentaries. The films and stars come from all over the world and over the years have helped to make this one of the most glamorous events in the film-making calendar.
The festival features a number of different events and competitions including the prestigious Palme d’Or prize, for which 20 different movies compete. There is also a Palme d’Or prize for short films.
Every year, actors and directors take part in masterclasses and tickets for these events are hard to come by so anyone who wants to attend needs to book a ticket as far in advance as possible. There are exhibitions at the event where attendees can find out more about the film-making industry and there is also the Marché du Film, a movie market that attracts distributors from all over the world.