A Bit About Cannes

The Palais des Festivals et des Congrès

Although Oscar fever reaches its peak every February, the Academy's most devoted followers know better than to quit obsessing in March.  Instead, we turn our attention to film festivals, the birthplace of many of the year's future awards prospects.  At these festivals, critics and insiders alike get the first peek at a slew of new movies, often initiating the buzz that will propel a lucky few films into the year-end awards conversation.

And of the international festivals, none is more significant than Cannes.

The Cannes Film Festival occurs every May, and with it comes the unofficial start to the year's award season. Make no mistake-- most of the screened films have no chance at making a dent in the American awards race.  There's not even a guarantee that the winning films will pick up traction!  Much of this is due to the perceived stylistic inclinations of the films; this is a European festival, after all, and much of what screens will be labeled as pretentious art-house fare.  Furthermore, because of its international status, many of the films can be eliminated by Oscar handicappers solely because they're not in English.  Why?  Because the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences generally avoids subtitles like the plague.

But still, Cannes is important.  If the film is well-received, it is where distributors snatch it up and begin to plan awards campaigning.  Additionally, it provides the winners with a go-to marketing pitch.  But most of all, it serves as the premiere for the great majority of the films involved, and therefore provides us with the first taste of each film's critical reception.  For the few that are (1) bona fide hits, (2) deemed Oscar-friendly, and (3) blessed with campaign-savvy distributors, the 9+ month awards journey begins.