The 12th Cannes Film Festival took place from 30 April to 15 May 1959. French writer Marcel Achard served as Jury President for the main competition. The Palme d'Or went to the Black Orpheus by Marcel Camus.
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.
The festival opened with The 400 Blows by François Truffaut, and closed with The Diary of Anne Frank by George Stevens.
Juries
Main Competition Marcel Achard, French writer - Jury President Antoni Bohdziewicz, Polish filmmaker Michael Cacoyannis, Greek filmmaker Carlos Cuenca, Spanish Pierre Daninos, French writer Julien Duvivier, French filmmaker Max Favalelli, French Gene Kelly, American actor and filmmaker Carlo Ponti, Italian producer Micheline Presle, French actress Sergei Vasilyev, Soviet filmmaker
Short Films Competition Philippe Agostini, French cinematographer and filmmaker Antonín Brousil, Czechoslovak Paula Talaskivi, Finnish Jean Vivie, French CST official Véra Volmane, French journalist
Official Selection
In Competition The following feature films competed for the Palme d'Or: English titleOriginal titleDirector(s)Production countryThe 400 Blows (opening film)Les Quatre Cents CoupsFrançois TruffautFranceArayaMargot BenacerrafVenezuelaArms and the ManHeldenFranz Peter WirthWest GermanyBlack OrpheusOrfeu NegroMarcel CamusFrance, Brazil, ItalyBloody Twilight Matomeno iliovasilemmaAndreas LabrinosGreeceCompulsionRichard FleischerUnited StatesCourt MartialKriegsgerichtKurt MeiselWest GermanyDesireTouhaVojtěch JasnýCzechoslovakiaThe Diary of Anne Frank (closing film)George StevensUnited StatesÉdes Anna Zoltán FábriHungaryEvaDie HalbzarteRolf ThieleAustriaFanfareBert HaanstraNetherlandsHiroshima mon amourAlain ResnaisFrance, JapanA Home for TanyaОтчий домLev KulidzhanovSoviet UnionHoneymoonLuna de MielMichael PowellUnited Kingdom, SpainLajwantiNarendra SuriIndiaMiddle of the NightDelbert MannUnited StatesA Midsummer Night's DreamSen noci svatojánskéJiří TrnkaCzechoslovakiaMiss AprilFröken AprilGöran GenteleSwedenNazarínLuis BuñuelMexicoPolicarpoPolicarpo, ufficiale di scritturaMario SoldatiItalyPortuguese RhapsodyRapsódia PortuguesaJoão MendesPortugalRoom at the TopJack ClaytonUnited KingdomThe Sinner蕩婦與聖女Shen TienTaiwanThe Snowy Heron白鷺Teinosuke KinugasaJapanThe Soldiers of Pancho VillaLa CucarachaIsmael RodríguezMexicoStarsSterneKonrad WolfEast Germany, BulgariaSugar HarvestZafraLucas DemareArgentinaTrain Without a Timetable Vlak bez voznog redaVeljko BulajićYugoslavia
Short Films Competition The following short films competed for the Short Film Palme d'Or:
A Telhetetlen mehecske by Gyula Macskássy Cinématographier or Préhistoire du cinema by Emile Degelin Corrida interdite by Denys Colomb Daunant Deca sa granice by Purisa Djordjevic Eine Stadt feiert Geburtstag by Ferdinand Khittl Espana 1.800 by Jesús Fernández Santos Fartsfeber by Finn Carlsby Histoire d'un poisson rouge by Edmond Sechan Hsi yu chi by Tei Yang La mer et les jours by Alain Kaminker, Raymond Vogel La primera fundacion de Buenos Aires by Fernando Birri Le petit pecheur de la Mer de Chine by Serge Hanin Le Seigneur Julius by Khaled Abdul Wahab Ligeud ad luftvejen by Henning Carlsen Butterflies Don't Live Here (Motyli zde neziji) by Miro Bernat Neobjknovennie vstretchi by Archa Ovanessova New York, New York by Francis Thompson Paese d'America by Gian Luigi Polidoro Pecheurs de Sozopol by Nikolay Borovishki See Pakistan by W.J. Moylan Sinn im Sinnlosen by Bernhard Von Peithner-Lichtenfels Taj Mahal (short film) by Shri Mushir Ahmed Ten Men in a Boat by Sydney Latter The Fox Has Four Eyes by Jamie Uys The Living Stone by John Feeney Tussenspel bij kaarslicht by Charles Huguenot Van Der Linden Zmiana warty (The Changing of the Guard) by Włodzimierz Haupe
Official Awards Main Competition Palme d'Or: Black Orpheus by Marcel Camus Prix spécial du jury: Stars by Konrad Wolf Best Director: François Truffaut for The 400 Blows Best Actress: Simone Signoret for Room at the Top Best Actor: Dean Stockwell, Bradford Dillman and Orson Welles for Compulsion Best Comedy Award: Policarpo by Mario Soldati International Award: Nazarín by Luis Buñuel Special Mention: The Snowy Heron by Teinosuke Kinugasa Award of the best selection to Czechoslovakia: Desire by Vojtěch Jasný A Midsummer Night's Dream by Jiří Trnka
Short Films Competition Short Film Palme d'Or: Butterflies Don't Live Here by Miro Bernat Short film Jury Prize: New York, New York by Francis Thompson The Changing of the Guard by Włodzimierz Haupe Prix spécial du Jury: Histoire d'un poisson rouge by Edmond Sechan Special mention: Le petit pecheur de la Mer de Chine by Serge Hanin Hommage: La mer et les jours by Alain Kaminker, Raymond Vogel
Independent Awards
FIPRESCI Prize Hiroshima mon amour by Alain Resnais Araya by Margot Benacerraf
Commission Supérieure Technique Technical Grand Prize: Honeymoon by Michael Powell
OCIC Award The 400 Blows by François Truffaut
References
Media Institut National de l'Audiovisuel: Opening of the 1959 festival INA: Arrival of the celebrities in Cannes (commentary in French) INA: List of winners of the 1959 Festival (commentary in French)
External links 1959 Cannes Film Festival (web.archive) Official website Retrospective 1959 Cannes Film Festival Awards for 1959 at Internet Movie Database