Founded in 1946, The Cannes Film Festival is one of the world's oldest and most prestigious film festivals that previews and showcases new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Held in May each year in Cannes, France, the invitation-only festival is considered to be one of the most important events for European and international films. It's also a showcase for Hollywood films that screen out of competition.

Each year, the festival's official Jury determines the prizes for the films in competition, and hands them out during the closing ceremony for such categories as the the Palme d'Or, the Grand Prix, the Jury Prize, the Best Director Award, the Best Screenplay Award, the Best Actress Award, the Best Actor Award, the short film Palme d'Or and the Caméra d'Or Prize.

Supported by massive media exposure, the non-public festival is attended by many movie stars and is a popular venue for film producers to launch their new films and attempt to sell their works to the distributors who come from all over the globe.