The Cannes Film Festival, held from May 14 to 25 this year, saw several Indian artists win major prizes and receive critical acclaim for their works. Director Payal Kapadia’s debut feature film, All We Imagine As Light , won the coveted Grand Prix prize. There were many other films either made by Indians or having a strong Indian connection .
Among them was actor Anasuya Sengupta, who became the first Indian to win Best Actress at Cannes (Un Certain Regard) for her role in the Bulgarian director Konstantin Bojanov’s The Shameless. In addition to films, the festival consistently draws eyeballs every year with its attendees’ fashion. Over the years, particularly for Indians, it has become noteworthy because it results in numerous photos of Bollywood actors on the red carpet, often in unconventional outfits.
Why does the event generate so much interest and what happens as part of it? How did it all begin? We explain. Advertisement What is the Cannes Film Festival’s history? Its history goes back to 1936 when tensions were building up to World War II. In 1938, a few months before the War began in Europe, some countries assembled in Italy to attend the Venice Film Festival.
At that point, it was one of the very few competitive film festivals in the world, featuring the USA and a few countries from Europe. Italy and Germany were ruled by fascist parties under Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler, respectively. When it was time to give the best film award, the jury was unanimou.
