00:00The 2018 Cannes Film Festival is here, and why not celebrate by testing your knowledge about the world's most prestigious
00:07gathering of cinephiles with 10 Things You Didn't Know About Cannes.
00:11The festival was conceived in 1939, but could not be held due to the outbreak of World War II.
00:17The first edition instead began in 1946, which should make this year the 73rd, but it had to be cancelled
00:24in 1948 and 50 due to insufficient funds.
00:27Last year featured several special celebrations in honor of Cannes turning 70.
00:32In 1968, the fest was stopped halfway through, when a group of directors withdrew their films in solidarity with the
00:40student and labor strikes in France.
00:42The first Palme d'Or, the award for best picture, was presented in 1955. Prior to that, the main prize
00:48was the Grand Prix.
00:50Today, both honors are given out.
00:52The Palme d'Or trophy is made from 118 grams of 24-karat gold, attached to a cushion of a
00:58single piece of cut crystal.
01:00It's presented in a case of blue Moroccan leather and is worth around 20,000 euros.
01:06Acting and directing winners receive a smaller version, known as a mini-palm.
01:10In addition to the Palme d'Or, Grand Prix, and Best Director, Actor, and Actress, there are also some stranger
01:16awards handed out at Cannes, like the Palm Dog for Best Performance by a Canine.
01:21Last year's winner was Dustin Hoffman's Poodle in The Meyerowitz Stories, the first time a Netflix movie won a prize
01:27at the festival.
01:28But it's also quite possibly the last. After Netflix projects The Meyerowitz Stories and Okja took part last year, Cannes
01:35changed its rules to only allow films that are released in French cinemas to screen in competition.
01:41In retaliation, the streaming service pulled all of its movies from being shown at the fest, even those in other
01:47sections.
01:48In other scandalous news, three of Harvey Weinstein's alleged sexual assaults took place in Cannes, and organizers have condemned the
01:55disgraced producer.
01:56Festival-goers will receive a pamphlet about proper behavior when they arrive, a harassment hotline has been set up, and
02:03this year's jury includes Lea Seydoux, one of Weinstein's accusers, and Kate Blanchett, who helped found the Time's Up initiative.
02:10If Turkey's Nuri Bilge Ceylon takes the festival's top honor this year for the wild pear tree, he'll join a
02:17very exclusive group.
02:18Ceylon previously snagged a palm door in 2014 with Winter Sleep, and only seven filmmakers have managed the feat twice,
02:26if you count the Dardenne brothers as one director.
02:28The famous Tapie Rouge at the Palais du Festival is changed three times each day.
02:34The carpet is 60 meters long to cover the 24 stairs, so a total of two kilometers will be used
02:40over the 12 days.
02:41The population of the city during the rest of the year is around 74,000 people, but in May it
02:47nearly triples to around 210,000, including 5,000 journalists, 27,000 accredited attendees, and over 100,000 others, ranging
02:57from waiters to security guards to plain old tourists.
03:01The 71st annual Cannes Film Festival will take place from the 8th to the 19th of May.
03:06We wish all of this year's entries the best of luck.
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