The Cannes Festival (French: Festival de Cannes), named until 2002 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. 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 13–24 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.
Additionally, given 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.