Cannes Film Festival: what did the Croisette look like in the 1960s?

It is the most prestigious event on the Croisette. Since 1946, the Cannes Film Festival has been celebrating the seventh art by honoring the big names in French and international cinema. For a fortnight, filmmakers and directors come to present their films, some of which are in competition to win the Palme d’Or awarded by the jury.

The 1960s marked a key period for the seventh art. Especially since the Minister of Cultural Affairs André Malraux opened the doors of this event to a new wave of directors like François Truffaut and Alain Resnais, the festival website tells us. Among the award-winning filmmakers, we find Federico Fellini (La Dolce Vita, in 1960), Jacques Demy (The umbrellas of Cherbourg, in 1964) without forgetting Claude Lelouch (A man and a woman, in 1966).

During this same period, the Cannes Film Festival was also marked by several scandals which plagued the directors’ fortnight. Against the background of social protest in May 1968, the members of the jury resigned and their filmmakers withdrew their films, as the site tells us. The following year, on May 19, 1969, Truffaut, Godard and other directors prevented the screening of the film Peppermint struck, directed by Carlos Saura, clinging to the curtain of the stage in order to block its opening.

However, the Cannes Film Festival is also the meeting place for the biggest French and foreign stars who parade on the red carpet in front of the photographers. From the coronation of Jeanne Moreau, to the sublime evening outfits of Catherine Deneuve, passing the fiery kiss of Romy Schneider and Alain Delon or the election of Miss Festival… What did the Croisette look like in the 1960s? Spotlight through our retrospective in pictures.