2009 Cannes Film Festival

The 62nd annual Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 May – 24 May 2009. French actress Isabelle Huppert was the President of the Jury. It was announced on 19 March 2009, that Pixar's film Up would open the festival. This marked the first time that an animated film or a film in 3-D opened the festival.

American director Clint Eastwood became the second recipient of the Honorary Palme d'Or, an award given to directors who had established a significant body of work without ever winning a competitive Palme d'Or.

Festival line-up

Films in competition

The following films competed for the Palme d'Or.

Un Certain Regard

The following films competed in the Un Certain Regard section:

Films out of competition

The following films were shown out of competition:

Special screenings

The following films were given a special screening:

Cannes Classics

The Festival uses Cannes Classics to place the spotlight on rediscovered or restored masterworks from the past, or ones that have been re-released in theatres or on DVD.

Cannes Film Festival

The Cannes Festival (French: Festival de Cannes), named until 2002 as the International Film Festival (Festival international du film) and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is considered the most prestigious film festival in the world and is one of the most publicised, together with the Berlin International Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival. The invitation-only festival is held annually (usually in May) at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès.

The 2015 Cannes Film Festival took place between 13 and 24 May 2015. American film directors Joel Coen and Ethan Coen were the joint Presidents of the Jury. Dheepan, the film directed by French director Jacques Audiard, won the Palme d'Or.

On 1 July 2014, co-founder and former head of French pay-TV operator Canal+ Pierre Lescure took over as President of the festival. The Board of Directors also appointed Gilles Jacob as Honorary President of the festival.

Cannes

Cannes (French: [kan], English /ˈkæn/, in Occitan Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune of France located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The city is known for its association with the rich and famous, its luxury hotels and restaurants, and for several conferences. On 3 November 2011 it also played host to the G20 organisation of industrialised nations.

History

By the 2nd century BC the Ligurian Oxybii established a settlement here known as Aegitna (Αίγιθνα in ancient greek). Historians are unsure what the name means. The area was a fishing village used as a port of call between the Lérins Islands.

In 69 AD it became the scene of violent conflict between the troops of Otho and Vitellius.

In the 10th century the town was known as Canua. The name may derive from "canna," a reed. Canua was probably the site of a small Ligurian port, and later a Roman outpost on Le Suquet hill, suggested by Roman tombs discovered here. Le Suquet housed an 11th-century tower which overlooked swamps where the city now stands. Most of the ancient activity, especially protection, was on the Lérins Islands and the history of Cannes is closely tied to the history of the islands.

Film festival

A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upon the festival's focus, can include international and domestic releases. Some festivals focus on a specific film-maker or genre (e.g., film noir) or subject matter (e.g., horror film festivals). A number of film festivals specialise in short films of a defined maximum length. Film festivals are typically annual events. Some film historians do not consider Film Festivals as official releases of film, like Jerry Beck. The best known film festivals are the Venice Film Festival, the Cannes Film Festival, the Toronto Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, and the Berlin International Film Festival, the latter being the largest film festival worldwide, based on attendance. The Venice Film Festival is the oldest major festival. The Melbourne International Film Festival is the largest film festival in the Southern Hemisphere and one of the oldest in the world. A 2013 study found 3,000 active films festivals worldwide—active defined as having held an event in the previous 24 months.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (born 1 November 1973), also known as Aishwarya Rai, is an Indian actress, former model and the winner of the Miss World pageant of 1994. Through her successful Bollywood career, she has established herself as one the most popular and high-profile celebrities in India. Rai has received several awards, including two Filmfare Awards from ten nominations. She was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2009 and the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Government of France in 2012. She is often cited as the "most beautiful woman in the world" for which she has received worldwide attention.

While in college, Rai did a few modelling assignments. Following appearances in several television commercials, she entered into the Miss India pageant, in which she placed second. She was then crowned Miss World 1994, after which she began receiving offers to act in film. She made her acting debut with the 1997 Tamil film Iruvar and had her first Hindi film release in Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya the same year. Her first commercial success was the Tamil romantic drama Jeans (1998), following which she achieved wider success and two Best Actress awards at Filmfare for her performances in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) and Devdas (2002). She garnered critical appreciation for portraying Rabindranath Tagore's heroine, Binodini, in the Bengali film Chokher Bali (2003) and a depressed woman in the relationship drama Raincoat (2004). Rai's greatest commercial successes have been the adventure film Dhoom 2 (2006), the historical romance Jodhaa Akbar (2008), and the science fiction film Enthiran (2010). She also received praise for portraying a nurse in the drama Guzaarish (2010).