![\"US](\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/theme\/images\/th-online\/1x1_spacer.png\" "\\"US"){kind=spacer}
<\/picture><\/div>\nThe world of cinema finds itself revolving around the Palais de Festivals hall in the quiet French Rivera city of Cannes every May when the Festival de Cannes opens its curtains. The longest-running celebration of films in the world, the festival aims at \u201cencouraging the development of the cinematographic art in all its forms\u201d and fostering a \u201cspirit of collaboration between all film-producing countries\u201d.<\/p>\n
The brainchild of French writer and art critic Philippe Erlanger, the festival first took shape in 1939 in the months leading up to the outbreak of the Second World War. Erlanger was a member of the jury for the Venice Mostra in 1938, held in Italy under the rule of Benito Mussolini. Erlanger and other members of the jury were outraged with the Mostra when it went against the jury\u2019s calls and awarded the Mussolini cup, the festival\u2019s top prize, to Nazi propaganda film Olympia <\/i>and Italian film Luciano Serra, pilota<\/i>.<\/p>\n
After leaving the Mostra vowing not to return, Erlanger contacted French authorities to set up a rival festival before the next Mostra, and the authorities took it as a state affair. After much planning, the festival was scheduled to open at the Winter Casino in Cannes on September 1, 1939. But fears of an imminent war forced the invitees to leave Cannes. <\/p>\n
Germany invaded Poland on the day the festival was scheduled to begin, leaving authorities with no choice but to postpone. The declaration of war two days later meant the end of the first edition which only screened William Dieterle\u2019s The Hunchback of Notre Dame<\/i> in a private screening. The six-year war did not dampen Erlanger\u2019s spirit, and the festival began again with its second first edition on September 20, 1946. \u201cThe world threw itself into this first festival in a state of near intoxication, under a sun that shone constantly\u201d, Erlanger said of the festival.<\/p>\n
Having been born under such dramatic fashion symbolising resistance to Fascism and growing along with the post-war Europe, Cannes festival soon became the meeting point of arthouse movies from around the world. <\/p>\n
But Cannes got its reputation not from the countless masterpieces it premiered and screened year after year, but from a disrupted edition that was forced to shut down without completion. In 1968, while France was reeling under nationwide student protests, Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut, pioneers of French new wave cinema, led a group of directors and jury members to disrupt proceedings at Cannes in solidarity with the students. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are talking solidarity with students and workers, and you are talking about dolly shots and close ups,\u201d Godard said, during the commotion, kicking off the perennial debate about the nature of cinema\u2019s relation with society. <\/p>\n
History of resistance <\/h4>\n
This edition of the festival is not short of its own contributions to the rich history of resistance and solidarity the festival holds. Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof, whose film The Seed of the Sacred Fig<\/i>, was scheduled to be screened, is facing an eight-year prison sentence in Iran for his public statements. He managed to flee the country in silence days before the festival\u2019s opening. The Guardian reported he walked across the border after discarding all trackable devices and has found shelter in Germany.<\/p>\n
This edition is also taking place against the backdrop of a #metoo campaign making waves in France, with director Judith Godr\u00e8che premiering her short film Moi Aussi<\/i> (Me too), months after she alleged two prominent filmmakers sexually abused her when she was a teenager. <\/p>\n
This year\u2019s festival is significant for India with the country ending its 30-year long wait to compete for the Palme d\u2019Or, the honour for the best movie at the festival. India had made its mark at the fest in its inaugural edition itself, with Chetan Anand\u2019s Neecha Nagar<\/i> sharing the best picture award. Now All We Imagine As Light<\/i>, a Malayalam movie directed by Payal Kapadia, is lining up against the likes of Yorgos Lanthimos\u2019s Kinds of Kindness<\/i> and Francis Ford Coppola\u2019s Megalopolis <\/i>for the major prize.<\/p>\n
The last time an Indian movie competed for the prize was in 1994 with another Malayalam movie Swaham<\/i>, directed by Shaji N. Karun.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n