#NewsBytesExplainer: Looking at Cannes's most prestigious award, Palme d'Or
Each filmmaker whose movie competes in the Competition section at the Cannes Film Festival has the same agenda: how can one clinch the Palme d'Or? Winning the coveted trophy is a launchpad for several projects and the film that clinches it usually goes on to create sensations in global cinematic corridors. Let's take a look at the award's history and significance.
Winning the Palme d'Or contributes momentously to a movie's buzz
Palme d'Or translates to the "Golden Palm" and is the most coveted prize not just at Cannes but in the overall film community. In fact, it has been given out every year since 1946, the year of Cannes's inception. Per Cannes's website, "Until 1954, the Jury of the Festival de Cannes awarded a Grand Prix of the International Film Festival to Best Director."
Do you know who is credited with the first design?
The Cannes's website further adds, "At the end of 1954, upon the initiative of Robert Favre Le Bret, then Delegate General, the Festival's Board of Directors invited several jewelers to submit designs for a Palme, a tribute to the coat of arms of the City of Cannes." Acclaimed jewelry creator Lucienne Lazon's design was eventually selected and gradually improvised.
American director Delbert Mann was its first recipient
Wondering who was the first recipient of the award? In 1955, the first Palme d'Or was awarded to Delbert Mann for his film Marty. In 1975, it was decided that the trophy will be handed out to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition. In 1993, Jane Campion, a director from New Zealand became the Palme d'Or's first female recipient.
Here are the key awardees over the years
Some of the most famous recipients of the award are Martin Scorsese for Taxi Driver, Bong Joon-ho for Parasite, David Lynch for Wild at Heart, Quentin Tarantino for Pulp Fiction, Akira Kurosawa for Kagemusha, Robert Altman for MASH, and Ruben Ostlund for Triangle of Sadness. A non-competitive Honorary Palme d'Or has been awarded to Woody Allen, Jane Fonda, and Tom Cruise, among others.
