The Cannes Film Festival is the most prestigious film gathering in the world — not just a film festival but the central market and tastemaking event of the international cinema industry. Held for approximately two weeks every May, it attracts more than 12,000 industry professionals, 4,000 journalists, and enormous quantities of money, glamour, and controversy.
For regular visitors the festival transforms the town: the Croisette is closed to traffic, red carpets appear everywhere, and the price of everything approximately doubles. You can watch some screenings with accreditation, but the competition screenings are industry-only. What is accessible to anyone is the spectacle of the red carpet at the Palais des Festivals — arrive in the afternoon before an evening premiere and find a spot on the barriers outside. The atmosphere is unlike anything else in the world of cinema.