By Dave McCoy
MSN Movies

"In Cannes, the streets are so jammed that one would think one is still in Paris. The shops are full of stuff at astronomical prices and the casino is the meeting point of the journalists with their demands and communiqués. On the Croisette, it is a constant parade of cars. It's the rendezvous of stars and celebrities, a whole world, half naked and tanned to a perfect crisp."

These were the words of one French journalist attempting to summarize the lunacy, charisma and dizzying chaos that annually personifies the Cannes Film Festival. The year he wrote it? 1946, the festival's first full year, though the description could just as easily apply in 2008. In terms of romanticized images and overcrowding, not much has changed in Cannes during the past 61 years. For two weeks each May, the quaint, usually sleepy coastal village in France's Riviera, sporting an average age of 64, becomes the frantic, glamorous heart of the film world, populated by international celebrities, publicists and paparazzi. Although it only spans 10 blocks alongside the Mediterranean, Cannes has become so enormous, as the world's largest international film festival and marketplace, and so overwhelming that several books and Web sites now exist offering survival tips on how to avoid a nervous breakdown while attending. Others enjoy the pace, such as the former distributor who told writer Cari Beauchamp: "I've won big in Las Vegas, I've done some great drugs, but these were nothing compared to the rush of excitement that hits at Cannes."

Just glancing at Cannes' current, eye-popping numbers is enough to cause sensory overload. The festival has a staff of more than 850 with a budget beyond $30 million. In 12 days, nearly 1,500 films screen from more than 90 countries worldwide. Between 8:30 a.m. and midnight on any day, as many as 15 films may be showing simultaneously.

At the same time, extravagant parties, most privately held by studios or distributors or the festival, vie for patrons' attention, as do the town's casino, topless beaches, chic shops and unreasonable restaurants. The media onslaught often swells to 4,000 journalists, photographers and critics from more than 70 nations, all desperately battling for screening passes or those precious 5-minute intervals allowed for "probing" celebrity interviews. This year, Cannes celebrates its 61st year. The lineup definitely has a strong international flare this year, aside from a few flashy Hollywood titles, and a handful of famous filmmakers, which seems to cater to hard-core cinephiles looking for something new and different. Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles ("City of God," "The Constant Gardener") kicks off the proceedings with "Blindness" (starring Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Danny Glover and Gael Garcia Bernal) on May 14. The film will battle it out for the prized Palme d'Or with 21 other films, including Steven Soderbergh's 4-hour-long Che Guevara biopic; Clint Eastwood's "Changeling"; Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut, "Synecdoche, New York"; James Gray's "Two Lovers" starring Joaquin Phoenix and Gwyneth Paltrow; and the latest from two-time Palme d'Or winners Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (going for a record third prize), "Le Silence de Lorna." Big titles screening out of competition include "Indiana Jones and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" (you may have heard of it), the animated film "Kung Fu Panda" and Woody Allen's Spanish movie, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." Finally, the festival ends May 24 with Barry Levinson's "What Just Happened?," starring heavies such as Robert De Niro, Bruce Willis and Sean Penn. It promises to be another interesting, exhausting two weeks on the Croisette.

A Brief History of Cannes

Despite the number of films shown and the media attention given to the prominent awards handed out in international competition, Cannes has principally maintained its vitality and influence through a mixture of celebrity glitz and business deals. The two have been impossible to separate since the festival's earliest years. However, politics was the initial catalyst for Cannes. When the Venice Film Festival adopted a fondness for Fascist propaganda films in the 1930s (only Germany and Italy were grabbing prizes), other countries started worrying. Masterpieces such as Jean Renoir's "Grand Illusion" were being ignored while Mussolini's son took home the Grand Prize in 1938. France led a movement to start a democratic film festival, and Cannes was chosen as its site. The town's government hoped to promote tourism, and the first festival was scheduled in September 1939.

Right from the start, Cannes was star studded. The United States sent Gary Cooper and Douglas Fairbanks, while "The Wizard of Oz" and "Only Angels Have Wings" were set to screen. According to Cari Beauchamp and Henri Behar's book "Hollywood on the Riviera: The Inside Story of Cannes Film Festival," a giant cardboard Notre Dame Cathedral stood on the beach promoting the opening-night premiere of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." The gimmicky aesthetic of Cannes publicity was set. The opening film, a Russian documentary titled "Berlin," broke several times during its showing (foreshadowing future growing pains for the festival.) Then, midway through the film's screening, Hitler invaded Poland.

The festival was canceled through the years of World War II, until Sept. 20, 1946. In 1947, the roof of the newly constructed main theater, the Palais des Festivals, was torn off by a storm during a screening. No festivals were held from 1948 to 1950 for lack of funding. Despite the setbacks, Cannes' few festivals in the '40s established its reputation for hedonism. The combination of Hollywood stars, warm beaches, galas, casinos and endless parties grabbed instant media attention, and despite its financial problems, Cannes was instantly prominent. Most major film festivals (Sundance and Toronto come to mind) are discovered slowly, through word of mouth or a breakthrough film. But Cannes has a media blitz every year.

During the 1950s, Cannes became a more "legitimate" film festival. Moving from autumn to spring in 1951 helped the festival secure better films that hadn't already premiered elsewhere. Robert Favre Le Bret took over general control of the festival and gave it structure. Films were divided into three categories: In Competition, Out of Competition, and Un Certain Regard, for films deemed to have artistic merit but not considered worthy of competition. Starting in 1955, films in competition vied for the distinguished Palme d'Or for best film, with additional awards for best actor, actress, director and special jury prizes also awarded at the discretion of the jury. Out of Competition was used purely as a publicity tool, and America helped turn Cannes into spectacle with it.

The Hollywood studios' primary goal at Cannes, starting in the 1950s, was either to secure foreign distribution or launch publicity for a film already sold. Bubbly musicals, dry epics such as "Exodus," or star vehicles (with stars in tow) were shipped to Cannes, shown as opening- or closing-night premiere events, and hated by the hosts. The media, however, loved it. For the premiere of "Around the World in 80 Days" in 1957, caged lions and circus performers decorated the Palais stage, while a huge air balloon flew about the theater. The 1968 opening-night re-release of "Gone With the Wind" featured a recreation of Atlanta burning on the beach. Naturally, the biggest American exports were the celebrities sent to charm the press and Europeans and to sell films. Cary Grant or Liz Taylor strolling down the famous red-carpeted Palais steps was worth more publicity than 20 interviews.

Americans weren't the only ones focusing on glamour in the '50s and early '60s, however. Brigitte Bardot came to Cannes virtually unknown worldwide in 1953. After the media fell in love with her, she became synonymous with the festival, externalizing its sensuality and proving that with the right look and luck, anyone can be "discovered" at Cannes. A photo of unknown French actress Simone Silva topless in front of Robert Mitchum in 1953 also brought the festival immense international notice and sealed its reputation as a place of sex and stardom.

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