The 21st

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

was to have been held from 10 to 24 May

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

, before being curtailled due to the turmoil of May 1968 in France.

Background

This edition was marked by the previous controversy around the Langlois affair. On February 9, 1968 a meeting of the board of directors of the

Cinémathèque Française The Cinémathèque Française (), founded in 1936, is a French non-profit film organization that holds one of the largest archives of film documents and film-related objects in the world. Based in Paris's 12th arrondissement, the archive offers ...

(a non-profit organization), in which the representatives of the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: *Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) *Ministry of Culture (Algeria) *Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) *Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan) * Ministry of ...

and of the

Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

(which depended on the latter) decided to remove

Henri Langlois Henri Langlois (; 13 November 1914 – 13 January 1977) was a French film archivist and cinephile. A pioneer of film preservation, Langlois was an influential figure in the history of cinema. His film screenings in Paris in the 1950s are often c ...

, director and co-founder of the Cinémathèque, from his position. Even though they were not a majority, Langlois supporters such as

François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. After a career of more tha ...

refused to cast their vote.

André Malraux Georges André Malraux ( , ; 3 November 1901 – 23 November 1976) was a French novelist, art theorist, and minister of cultural affairs. Malraux's novel ''La Condition Humaine'' (Man's Fate) (1933) won the Prix Goncourt. He was appointed by P ...

, the French Minister of Culture, had prompted this decision because he wanted to implement managerial changes to gain more influence in the institution. After another vote Pierre Barbin, director of the Tours and Annecy film festivals, became the new director. Langlois was a very popular and beloved figure and this decision sparked a number of protests and demonstrations by filmmakers of the

French New Wave French New Wave (french: La Nouvelle Vague) is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of iconocla ...

, as well as actors, critics and fans who demonstrated in front of the Cinémathèque at the

Palais de Chaillot The Palais de Chaillot () is a building at the top of the in the Trocadéro area in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th ''arrondissement'' of Paris, France. For the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne (1937) ...

on February 12. Many internationally acclaimed film directors like

Charles Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...

Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such ...

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

and

Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish-Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico, and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians, and directors to be one of the greatest and m ...

also sent letters in support of Langlois and even threatened to retrieve the copies of their films previously given to the Cinemathéque. On February 14, another demonstration took place but this time artists were joined by

Sorbonne University Sorbonne University (french: Sorbonne Université; la Sorbonne: 'the Sorbonne') is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de Sorbon ...

students in what was a prelude of what was going to happen in the following months. French filmmakers decided to form the ''Committee for the Defense of the Cinémathèque''. At this point, the issue was no longer cultural and had become political. After long negotiations, on April 22, a special meeting of the general assembly of the Cinémathèque was called and voted to reinstate Langlois, with the approval of Malraux who also pulled the government's representatives from the assembly but in exchange cut public funding to a minimum.

The Festival

The festival opened on May 10 with the

70 mm 70 mm film (or 65 mm film) is a wide high-resolution film gauge for motion picture photography, with a negative area nearly 3.5 times as large as the standard 35 mm motion picture film format. As used in cameras, the film is wid ...

restored version of ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind may also refer to: Music * ''Gone with the Wind'' ...

'', directed by

Victor Fleming Victor Lonzo Fleming (February 23, 1889 – January 6, 1949) was an American film director, cinematographer, and producer. His most popular films were ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind'', for which he won an Academy Award for Best ...

. American film actress and

Princess of Monaco Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956. Kelly ...

served as the host of the opening and closing ceremonies. Personalities of French cinema were sensitive to the demonstrations which were taking place in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. On the night of May 10 to May 11, violent clashes between students and the police took place in the

Latin Quarter The Latin Quarter of Paris (french: Quartier latin, ) is an area in the 5th and the 6th arrondissements of Paris. It is situated on the left bank of the Seine, around the Sorbonne. Known for its student life, lively atmosphere, and bistros ...

in what became the first night of the barricades. Following these incidents, the French Critics Association issued a statement asking the participants of the festival to join the demonstration of support for striking students scheduled on May 13 and called for the suspension of the festival and for those in Cannes to support the students in their "protest against the violent police repression which is an assault on the nation's cultural liberty, the secular traditions of its universities and its democratic principles". However, the organization refused. On May 17, in

the ''États généraux du cinéma'', a general assembly of cinema professionals, called for the Cannes Festival to be stopped.

Peter Lennon Peter Gerard Lennon (28 February 1930 – 18 March 2011) was an Irish journalist and film director, probably best known as director of the social history documentary film ''Rocky Road to Dublin''. He worked for ''The Guardian'' newspaper for ...

's documentary ''Rocky Road to Dublin'' was screened at the festival. It was the last film to be shown. The next day on May 18, a panel discussion of the members of the Committee for the Defense of the Cinémathèque was organized to discuss the Langlois affair, with the presence of directors

Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as Fran� ...

Jean-Gabriel Albicocco Jean-Gabriel Albicocco (15 February 1936, Cannes – 10 April 2001, Rio de Janeiro) was a French film director. In 1960 he married French actress and singer Marie Laforêt. He is considered a figure of the French New Wave cinema or ''Nouvel ...

Claude Berri Claude Berri (; 1 July 1934 – 12 January 2009) was a French film director, writer, producer, actor and distributor. Early life Born Claude Beri Langmann in Paris, Berri was the son of Jewish immigrant parents. His mother, Beila (née Bercu), w ...

and actor

Jean-Pierre Léaud Jean-Pierre Léaud, ComM (; born 28 May 1944) is a French actor, known for playing Antoine Doinel in François Truffaut's series of films about that character, beginning with ''The 400 Blows'' (1959). He also worked several times with Jean-Luc God ...

. The discussions were lively and

, who had arrived from Paris the day before, explained that while the trains are blocked and the factories on strike, it would be ridiculous to continue the festival.

believed that with this interruption, the cinema will show its solidarity with the student movements. Claude Lelouch,

Jean-Claude Carrière Jean-Claude Carrière (; 17 September 1931 – 8 February 2021) was a French novelist, screenwriter and actor. He received an Academy Award for best short film for co-writing '' Heureux Anniversaire'' (1963), and was later conferred an Honorary ...

, actress

Macha Méril Macha Méril (; born Princess Maria-Magdalena Vladimirovna Gagarina on 3 September 1940) is a French actress and writer. Biography Méril is descended by her father from the Russian princely house Gagarin and by her mother from a Ukrainian nob ...

as well as jury members

Louis Malle Louis Marie Malle (; 30 October 1932 – 23 November 1995) was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in both Cinema of France, French cinema and Cinema of the United States, Hollywood. Described as "eclectic" and "a fi ...

and

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a (né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two ...

, joined them to announce in a press conference in the salle Jean Cocteau at the old Palais Croisette that, in solidarity with the workers and the students who were protesting across France, the festival had to be put to an end. Subsequently, Louis Malle,

Monica Vitti Monica Vitti (born Maria Luisa Ceciarelli; 3 November 1931 – 2 February 2022) was an Italian actress who starred in several award-winning films directed by Michelangelo Antonioni during the 1960s. After working with Antonioni, Vitti changed f ...

, Roman Polanski, and

Terence Young Terence or Terry Young may refer to: *Terence Young (director) (1915–1994), British film director * Terence Young (politician) (born 1952), Canadian Conservative Party politician * Terence Young (writer), Canadian writer * Terry Young (American p ...

resigned from the international jury while

Alain Resnais Alain Resnais (; 3 June 19221 March 2014) was a French film director and screenwriter whose career extended over more than six decades. After training as a film editor in the mid-1940s, he went on to direct a number of short films which included ...

, Claude Lelouch,

Carlos Saura Carlos Saura Atarés (born 4 January 1932) is a Spanish film director, photographer and writer. Along with Luis Buñuel and Pedro Almodóvar, he is considered to be one of Spain’s most renowned filmmakers. He has a long and prolific career th ...

, and

Miloš Forman Jan Tomáš "Miloš" Forman (; ; 18 February 1932 – 13 April 2018) was a Czech and American film director, screenwriter, actor, and professor who rose to fame in his native Czechoslovakia before emigrating to the United States in 1968. Forman ...

asked for the withdrawal of their films of the competition. Louis Malle announced that "the jury is out of state to work". Polanski was skeptical of these measures because those methods reminded him of what Communists did in his native

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

but ended up supporting the annulment of that year's festival. Also, jury member

Vsevolod Rozhdestvensky Vsevolod Aleksandrovich Rozhdestvensky (russian: Все́волод Алекса́ндрович Рожде́ственский; 10 April 1895, Tsarskoye Selo – 31 August 1977, Leningrad) was a Russian and Soviet poet, journalist and war corres ...

, a poet from the Soviet Union, considered the idea of cancelling the festival so heinous that he even refused to attend the emergency jury meeting. Director Robert Favre Le Bret claimed: "We will close the festival tomorrow at midday". That same evening, ''

Peppermint Frappé ''Peppermint Frappé'' is a 1967 Spanish psychological thriller directed by Carlos Saura, starring Geraldine Chaplin and José Luis López Vázquez. The story centers on a man who becomes obsessed with the wife of an old friend, believing her to ...

'' by Carlos Saura, was the only film pending to be screened. Saura, accompanied by his then girlfriend and protagonist of the film,

Geraldine Chaplin Geraldine Leigh Chaplin (born July 31, 1944) is an American actress. She is the daughter of Charlie Chaplin, the first of eight children with his fourth wife, Oona O'Neill. After beginnings in dance and modeling, she turned her attention to act ...

, did not want his own film to be watched. However, despite his total opposition the projection began. Saura and Chaplin jumped onstage and yelled asking not to start the projector to the audience's shock. As Favre Le Bret gave the order to open the big curtain that covered the screen, Saura and Chaplin decided to hung on from the curtains to prevent them from pulling back. At this point, they were joined by Truffaut and Godard. The film was not shown and this started a heated discussion and then a physical altercation with the audience who wanted to watch the film. As a punishment for all his actions, Truffaut was later declared ''

persona non grata In diplomacy, a ' (Latin: "person not welcome", plural: ') is a status applied by a host country to foreign diplomats to remove their protection of diplomatic immunity from arrest and other types of prosecution. Diplomacy Under Article 9 of the ...

'' by the organization. Finally on May 19 at 12 p.m. and five days before the established end of the festival, the board of directors led by Robert Favre Le Bret voted unanimously to cancel this edition, not awarding any prize. From the 28 films that were selected to compete for the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film, only 11 were screened.

Jury

The following people were appointed as the Jury of the 1968 feature film competition: Feature films *

André Chamson André Chamson (6 June 1900 – 9 November 1983) was a French archivist, novelist and essayist. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. He was the father of the novelist . Biography Chamson was born at Nîmes, Gard. Having studi ...

(France) - Jury President *

(Italy) *

Claude Aveline Claude Aveline, pen name of Evgen Avtsine (19 July 1901 – 4 November 1992), was a writer, publisher, editor, poet and member of the French Resistance. Aveline, who was born in Paris, France, has authored numerous books and writings througho ...

(France) * Boris von Borresholm (West Germany) *

Veljko Bulajić Veljko Bulajić (born 22 March 1928) is a Montenegrins of Croatia, Montenegrin film director and UNESCO Kalinga Prize recipient. He has spent the majority of his life working in Croatia and is primarily known for directing World War II-themed movi ...

(Yugoslavia) * Paul Cadeac d'Arbaud (France) *

Jean Lescure Jean Lescure (14 September 1912 – 17 October 2005) was a French poet. Biography Lescure was born in Asnières-sur-Seine. In 1938, he published his first plaquette of poems, "Le voyage immobile", and launched the review "Messages" (two issue ...

(France) *

(France) * Jan Nordlander (Sweden) *

(Poland) *

Robert Rozhdestvensky Robert Ivanovich Rozhdestvensky (russian: Ро́берт Ива́нович Рожде́ственский; 20 June 1932 – 19 August 1994) was a Soviet-Russian poet and Songwriter who broke with socialist realism in the 1950s–1960s during ...

(Soviet Union) *

(United Kingdom)

Official selection

In competition - Feature film

The following films were due to compete for the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film: * ''

Seduto alla sua destra ''Black Jesus'' ( it, Seduto alla sua destra, lit. "Sitting to his right") is a 1968 Italian drama film co-written and directed by Valerio Zurlini and starring Woody Strode. It is inspired by the finals days of the first Prime Minister of the Dem ...

'' by

Valerio Zurlini Valerio Zurlini (19 March 1926 – 26 October 1982) was an Italian film director, stage director and screenwriter. Biography During his law studies in Rome, he started working in the theatre. In 1943, he joined the Italian resistance. Zurlin ...

* '' Vingt-quatre heures de la vie d'une femme'' by Dominique Delouche * ''

Anna Karenina ''Anna Karenina'' ( rus, «Анна Каренина», p=ˈanːə kɐˈrʲenʲɪnə) is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878. Widely considered to be one of the greatest works of literature ever writte ...

'' by

Aleksandr Zarkhi Aleksandr Grigoryevich Zarkhi (russian: Александр Григорьевич Зархи; 18 February 1908 – 27 January 1997) was a Soviet and Russian film director and screenwriter. People's Artist of the USSR (1969). Hero of Socialist ...

* '' Banditi a Milano'' by

Carlo Lizzani Carlo Lizzani (3 April 1922 – 5 October 2013) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and critic. Biography Born in Rome, before World War II Lizzani worked as a scenarist on such films as Roberto Rossellini's ''Germany Year Zero'', ...

* ''

Charlie Bubbles ''Charlie Bubbles'' is a 1968 British comedy-drama film directed by Albert Finney in his feature directorial debut. The film stars Finney alongside Billie Whitelaw and Liza Minnelli. It was screened at the 1968 Cannes Film Festival on the 11th, ...

'' by

Albert Finney Albert Finney (9 May 1936 – 7 February 2019) was an English actor. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and worked in the theatre before attaining prominence on screen in the early 1960s, debuting with '' The Entertainer'' (1960) ...

* '' Csillagosok, katonák'' by

Miklós Jancsó Miklós Jancsó (; 27 September 192131 January 2014) was a Hungarian film director and screenwriter. Jancsó achieved international prominence starting in the mid-1960s with works including '' The Round-Up'' (''Szegénylegények'', 1965), ''T ...

* '' Das Schloß'' by

Rudolf Noelte Rudolf Noelte (21 March 1921 – 8 November 2002) was a German film director, theater director and opera director. Filmography Film * '' The Castle'' (1968, based on '' The Castle'') Television * ''Pygmalion'' (1957, based on ''Pygmalion'') * ...

* ''

Doktor Glas ''Doctor Glas'', an epistolary novel by Hjalmar Söderberg, tells the story of a physician in 19th-century Sweden who deals with moral and love issues. Synopsis The novel is about Dr. Tyko Gabriel Glas who is a respected physician in Stockholm ...

'' by

Mai Zetterling Mai Elisabeth Zetterling (; 24 May 1925 – 17 March 1994) was a Swedish film director, novelist and actor. Early life Zetterling was born in Västerås, Sweden to a working class family. She started her career as an actor at the age of 17 at D ...

* '' Feldobott kö'' by

Sándor Sára Sándor Sára (28 November 1933 – 22 September 2019) was a Hungarian cinematographer and film director. He directed 16 films between 1962 and 2004. His film ''The Upthrown Stone'' was listed to compete at the 1968 Cannes Film Festival, but ...

* '' Fényes szelek'' by

* '' Grazie, zia'' by

Salvatore Samperi Salvatore Samperi (26 July 1944 – 4 March 2009) was an Italian film director. His 1973 film '' Malicious'' was entered into the 23rd Berlin International Film Festival and his 1979 film ''Ernesto'' was entered into the 29th Berlin In ...

* ''

Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush" (also titled "Mulberry Bush" or "This Is the Way") is an English nursery rhyme and singing game. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 7882. It uses the tune which Nancy Dawson danced into fame in ''Th ...

'' by

Clive Donner Clive Stanley Donner (21 January 1926 – 6 September 2010)Ronald Bergan]Obituary: Clive Donner ''The Guardian'', 7 September 2010 was a British film Film director, director who was part of the British New Wave, directing films such as ''Th ...

* '' The Firemen's Ball, Hoří, má panenko'' by

* ''

I protagonisti ''The Protagonists'' ( it, I protagonisti) is a 1968 Italian drama film directed by Marcello Fondato. It was listed to compete at the 1968 Cannes Film Festival, but the festival was cancelled due to the events of May 1968 in France. Cast * Sylv ...

'' by

Marcello Fondato Marcello Fondato (8 January 1924 – 13 November 2008) was an Italian screenwriter and film director. He wrote for 46 films between 1958 and 1986. He also directed ten films between 1968 and 1992. His 1970 film '' Ninì Tirabusciò: la donna ...

* ''

Je t'aime, je t'aime ''Je t'aime, je t'aime'' ("I Love You, I Love You") is a 1968 French science fiction film directed by Alain Resnais from a screenplay by Jacques Sternberg. The plot centres on Claude Ridder (Claude Rich) who is asked to participate in a mysteri ...

'' by

* ''

Joanna Joanna is a feminine given name deriving from from he, יוֹחָנָה, translit=Yôḥānāh, lit=God is gracious. Variants in English include Joan (given name), Joan, Joann, Joanne (given name), Joanne, and Johanna. Other forms of the name in ...

'' by

Mike Sarne Michael Sarne (born Michael Scheuer; 6 August 1940) is a British actor, writer, producer and director, who also had a brief career as a pop singer in the 1960s. Sarne directed the films ''Joanna'' (1968) and ''Myra Breckinridge'' (1970). He h ...

* ''

Les Gauloises bleues ''Les Gauloises bleues'' is a 1968 French drama film directed by Michel Cournot. It was listed to compete at the 1968 Cannes Film Festival, but the festival was cancelled due to the events of May 1968 in France. Cast * Annie Girardot – La ...

'' by

Michel Cournot Michel Cournot (1 May 1922 – 8 February 2007) was a French journalist, screenwriter and film director. As a writer he was awarded the Fénéon Prize in 1949 for ''Martinique''. His only film as a director, '' Les Gauloises bleues'', was ...

* '' Mali vojnici'' by Bahrudin Čengić * '' O slavnosti a hostech'' by

Jan Němec Jan Němec (12 July 1936 – 18 March 2016) was a Czech filmmaker whose most important work dates from the 1960s. Film historian Peter Hames has described him as the "enfant terrible of the Czech New Wave." Biography Němec's career as a fil ...

* ''

'' by

* ''

Petulia ''Petulia'' is a 1968 British-American drama film directed by Richard Lester and starring Julie Christie, George C. Scott and Richard Chamberlain. The film has a screenplay by Lawrence B. Marcus from a story by Barbara Turner and is based on t ...

'' by

Richard Lester Richard Lester Liebman (born January 19, 1932) is an American retired film director based in the United Kingdom. He is best known for directing the Beatles' films '' A Hard Day's Night'' (1964) and ''Help!'' (1965), and the superhero films ''S ...

* ''

Rozmarné léto ''Capricious Summer'' ( cs, Rozmarné léto) is a 1968 Czechoslovak comedy film directed by Jiří Menzel. It is based on the novel ''Rozmarné léto'' (Summer of Caprice) by the Czech writer Vladislav Vančura. It was listed to compete at the ...

'' by

Jiří Menzel Jiří Menzel () (23 February 1938 – 5 September 2020) was a Czech film director, theatre director, actor, and screenwriter. His films often combine a humanistic view of the world with sarcasm and provocative cinematography. Some of these films ...

* '' Tuvia Vesheva Benotav'' by

Menahem Golan Menahem Golan ( he, מנחם גולן; May 31, 1929 – August 8, 2014, originally Menachem Globus) was an Israeli film producer, screenwriter, and director. He was best known for co-owning The Cannon Group with his cousin Yoram Globus. Cannon sp ...

* ''

The Girl on a Motorcycle ''The Girl on a Motorcycle'' ( French: ''La motocyclette'') is a 1968 British-French erotic romantic drama film directed by Jack Cardiff, starring Alain Delon and Marianne Faithfull and featuring Roger Mutton, Marius Goring and Catherine Jourda ...

'' by

Jack Cardiff Jack Cardiff, (18 September 1914 – 22 April 2009) was a British cinematographer, film and television director, and photographer. His career spanned the development of cinema, from silent film, through early experiments in Technicolor, to fi ...

* ''

The Long Day's Dying ''The Long Day's Dying'' is a 1968 British Techniscope war film directed by Peter Collinson, based on the 1962 novel of the same name by Alan White and starring David Hemmings. It was listed to compete at the 1968 Cannes Film Festival, but the ...

'' by Peter Collinson * ''

Trilogy A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part wor ...

'' by

Frank Perry Frank Joseph Perry Jr. (August 21, 1930 – August 29, 1995) was an American stage director and filmmaker. His 1962 independent film '' David and Lisa'' earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay (writte ...

* '' Yabu no naka no kuroneko'' by

Kaneto Shindō was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, film producer, and writer, who directed 48 films and wrote scripts for 238. His best known films as a director include ''Children of Hiroshima'', ''The Naked Island'', '' Onibaba'', ''Kuroneko'' and ' ...

* '' Zywot Mateusza'' by

Witold Leszczyński Witold Leszczyński (16 August 1933 – 1 September 2007) was a Polish film director and screenwriter. In 1967 he graduated from the National Film School in Łódź. He directed over thirty films between 1959 and 2007. Most known for ''Żyw ...

Films out of competition

The following films were selected to be screened out of competition: * ''

'' by

* ''

Spirits of the Dead ''Spirits of the Dead'' (french: Histoires extraordinaires, lit=Extraordinary Tales, it, Tre passi nel delirio, lit=Three Steps to Delirium), also known as ''Tales of Mystery and Imagination'', is a 1968 horror anthology film comprising three ...

'' by

Roger Vadim Roger Vadim Plemiannikov (; 26 January 1928 – 11 February 2000) was a French screenwriter, film director and producer, as well as an author, artist and occasional actor. His best-known works are visually lavish films with erotic qualities, su ...

and

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most i ...

Parallel sections

International Critics' Week

The following feature films were selected to be screened for the 7th

International Critics' Week The International Critics' Week (french: Semaine de la Critique) was founded in 1962 and is organized by the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics. It was created following the showing of '' The Connection'' directed by Shirley Clarke which had been ...

(7e Semaine de la Critique): * ''Angèle (Quatre d’entre elles)'' by

Yves Yersin Yves Yersin (4 October 1942 – 15 November 2018) was a Swiss film director. His film '' Les petites fugues'' competed in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival. Biography Yersin studied photography at the Center V ...

(Switzerland) * ''Concerto pour un exil'' by Désiré Ecaré (France, Ivory Coast) * ''The Edge'' by

Robert Kramer Robert Kramer (June 22, 1939 – November 10, 1999), born in New York and educated at Swarthmore College and Stanford University, was an American film director, screenwriter and actor who directed 19 films between 1965 and 1999, most of them ...

(United States) * ''Les enfants de Néant'' by

Michel Brault Michel Brault, OQ (25 June 1928 – 21 September 2013) was a Canadian cinematographer, cameraman, film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He was a leading figure of Direct Cinema, characteristic of the French branch of the National ...

(France) * '' Falling Leaves'' (''Giorgobistve'') by

Otar Iosseliani Otar Iosseliani ( ka, ოთარ იოსელიანი, born 2 February 1934) is a Georgian-born film director. He was born in the Georgian capital city of Tbilisi, where he studied at the Tbilisi State Conservatoire and graduated in 1952 ...

(Soviet Union) * ''How Long Does a Man Live?'' (''Meddig él az ember?'') by

Judit Elek Judit Elek (born 10 November 1937) is a Hungarian film director and screenwriter. She directed 16 films between 1962 and 2006. Her film '' Mária-nap'' was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival. Filmograph ...

(Hungary) * ''Marie pour mémoire'' by

Philippe Garrel Philippe Garrel (; born 6 April 1948) is a French director, cinematographer, screenwriter, film editor, and producer, associated with the French New Wave movement. His films have won him awards at Cannes Film Festival and Venice Film Festival. ...

(France) * ''On Paper Wings'' (''Na papirnatih avionih'') by Matjaz Klopcic (Yugoslavia) * ''

The Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

'' by Frank Simon (United States) * ''

Rocky Road to Dublin "Rocky Road to Dublin" is a 19th-century Irish song written by Irish poet D. K. Gavan about a man's experiences as he travels to Liverpool, England from his home in Tuam, Ireland. Originally popularized by Harry Clifton, it has since been per ...

'' by

(Ireland) Not presented because of the interruption of the festival: * ''

Chronik der Anna Magdalena Bach ''The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach'' (german: Chronik der Anna Magdalena Bach) is a 1968 film by the French filmmaking duo of Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet. It was their first full-length feature film, and reportedly took a decade to ...

'' by

Jean-Marie Straub Jean-Marie is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Jean-Marie Abgrall (born 1950), a French psychiatrist, criminologist, specialist in forensic medicine, cult expert, and graduate in criminal law * Jean-Marie C ...

(West Germany) * ''

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

'' by Jack O’Connell (United States)

Aftermath

The protests that led to the cancelling of this edition of the festival also brought some changes. On June 14, 1968, French filmmakers like François Truffaut and Louis Malle, among others, took the opportunity to found the ''Société des Réalisateurs de Films'' (SRF) with the mission of "defending artistic, moral and professional and economic freedoms of cinematographic creation and participating in the development of new structures of the cinema". In the next year's edition of the festival, it started to organize a parallel selection to the official one called

Directors' Fortnight The Directors' Fortnight (french: Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) is an independent selection of the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festiv ...

. In the 2008 edition, forty years later, some of the works that could not be screened at the time were restored: ''

'' by

, '' 24 Hours in the Life of a Woman'' by Dominique Delouche, ''

'' by

Alexandre Zarkhi Aleksandr Grigoryevich Zarkhi (russian: Александр Григорьевич Зархи; 18 February 1908 – 27 January 1997) was a Soviet and Russian film director and screenwriter. People's Artist of the USSR (1969). Hero of Socialist ...

and ''

'' by Peter Collinson. '' 13 jours en France'' by

Claude Lelouch Claude Barruck Joseph Lelouch (; born 30 October 1937) is a French film director, screenwriter, writer, cinematographer, actor and film producer, producer. Lelouch grew up in an Algerian Jewish Family. He emerged as a prominent director in the 1 ...

and

François Reichenbach François Reichenbach (3 July 1921 – 2 February 1993) was a French film director, cinematographer producer and screenwriter. He directed 40 films between 1954 and 1993. Early life François Reichenbach was born in 1921 in Neuilly-su ...

was also shown even though it was not part of the official selection.

References

Media

Institut national de l'audiovisuel: Cannes Festival, May 1968
(commentary in French) Jean-Luc Godard, Roman Polanski, François Truffaut and Louis Malle lead the debate to answer the question: should we stop the festival? Favre le Bret Robert, President of the Festival, announces the festival closed. (duration 10′25″)

External links

(web.archive)
Official website Retrospective 1968

{{Cannes Film Festival Cannes Film Festival, 1968 Cannes Film Festival, 1968 Cannes Film Festival

Background

The Festival

Jury

Official selection

In competition - Feature film

Films out of competition

Parallel sections

International Critics' Week

Aftermath

See also

References

Media

External links