The 12th Cannes Film Festival was held from 30 April to 15 May 1959. The Palme d'Or went to the "Orfeu Negro" by Marcel Camus. The festival opened with "Les Quatre Cents Coups", directed by François Truffaut and closed with "The Diary of Anne Frank", directed by George Stevens.
In 1959, the Marché du Film (lit. Film Market) was established as the business counterpart of the Cannes Film Festival, with the aim of helping meet the needs of film industry professionals. Before this year the market was held unofficially in the cinemas of the rue d'Antibes in Cannes. Another important development of that year for the Festival, was that the French cinema moved away from the Ministry of Industry and became part of Ministry of Cultural Affairs.
Jury.
The following people were appointed as the Jury of the 1959 competition:
Feature films
Short films
Feature film competition.
The following feature films competed for the Palme d'Or:
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Short film competition.
The following short films competed for the Short Film Palme d'Or:
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Awards.
Official awards.
The following films and people received the 1959 awards:
Short films
Independent awards.
FIPRESCI
Commission Supérieure Technique
OCIC Award
References.
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