Sunday 26 June 2016

AWARDS AND CELEBRATIONS - FESTIVAL DE CANNES



AWARDS AND CELEBRATIONS - FESTIVAL DE CANNES 





Cannes Film Festival is one of the top 10 International Film Festivals of the world.  It is the most popular film award in the world after Oscar or Academy Awards.  

Come first quarter of the calendar year, it is the season of much awaited Film Award Nights.  The previous year’s outstanding performance in different category is honored with sparkling trophies in Award Nights.  It is all the way owner’s pride and neighbor’s envy when the award is announced.  The excited award recipients rush to the stage and adorn the podium to thank everyone from family to luminaries in the film industry. 

All the Film industry big wigs - actors, directors, producers, technicians, lyricists, singers, musicians all are invited to show case the glitterati of the movie world. Some of the super star celebrities perform on the stage much to the delight of audience and television viewers.  Honoring Life Time Achievers for an outstanding career in films is a part of Award Nights. This is the movie fraternity’s annual get together.  They come to the award venue in high end cars dressed in deluxe costumes to draw the attention of others.  They brandish the style and fashion for the eager fans to emulate. After an entire year of long busy schedule of movie making they gather to celebrate their success in the company of fellow artists among the cheering die-hard fans in the backdrop.

Awards have become order of the day.  The outstanding performers of any given walks of life for e.g. business and industry are celebrated every year too.  All the arms of professional excellence in almost any field being instituted an award to confer on the super achievers.

The Film Award Nights last into the wee hours and calls for celebrations with spectacular fireworks followed by wine and dine according to the venues.

The Grammy Award is an international award given to the outstanding performers in the world of Music.

The most popular awards in India are Filmfare Awards and Corporate Excellence Award by Economic Times.

Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padmashree are the much coveted awards announced by the Government of India.  The Arjuna Awards and Khel Ratna Awards are instituted to confer honors in the field of sports and games.

The Jnanpith Award :  The Jnanpith Award is an Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith and is given to an author for the "outstanding contribution towards literature".

Golden Peacock Awards, instituted by Institute of Directors in 1991, are now regarded as Holy Grail of Corporate Excellence Worldwide.

Private steel major Tata Steel has been awarded the 'Golden Peacock Global Award for Sustainability' (GPGAS) for 2015 by the Institute of Directors, India.
The Nobel Prize is a set of annual international awards bestowed in a number of categories by Swedish and Norwegian committees in recognition of academic, cultural and/or scientific advances.  The Award includes cash prize and a medal.






The world’s most famous top 10 Film Awards are as follows –

  1. Palme d’Or – The Cannes International Film Festival




Introduced in 1955 as the highest prize of the festival, it was replaced in 1964 by the Grand Prix du Festival. It was ultimately brought back in 1974. The idea was to have a different sculpture each year from a contemporary artist. The first one was designed by the jeweler Lucienne Lazon. The most recent design of the award, untouched since 1997 when it was designed by Caroline Scheufele, features a single crystal piece and a 24-carat gold palm hand cast into a wax mold. The prize is given to the director of the best feature film. There is a policy during the festival forbidding the winner of the prize to receive any additional awards.



2. Oscar – The Academy Awards



The Oscars, as they are popularly known, is the most renowned and awaited film ceremony every year, watched live in over 200 countries. The official name of the prize is the Academy Award of Merit and it was first presented in 1929 with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences overseeing the process.
The ceremony takes place in the first quarter of the year and honors the achievements of the previous year. The statuette is made of gold-plated britannium with a black metal base and depicts an Art Deco representation of a knight with a sword standing on a reel of film with five spokes, each one suggesting the branches of the Academy – the actors, writers, directors, producers and technicians.

3. BAFTA  Awards


The award ceremony is hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts which was founded in 1947. The first awards were given two years later. In 1958, the Academy merged with the Guild of Television Producers and Directors and their purpose was to “support, develop and promote the art forms of the moving image by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the public.” The award is a theatrical mask designed by Mitzi Cunliffe and the ceremony usually takes place in February, before the Oscars.


4. The Golden Bear – The Berlin International Film Festival




The event is also known as the Berlinale and is a part of the “Big Three” film festivals including those in Venice, Italy and in Cannes, France. If we consider attendance rates, than this is the largest festival in the world.
The figure of a bear for the award was chosen because it is the heraldic animal of Berlin and can be found on the coat of arms and on the city’s flag. It was first awarded in 1951. The festival was accredited by the FIAPF in 1956 with an international jury deciding the winners.


5. Filmfare Awards




The Filmfare Awards is the oldest ceremony appreciating the Hindi film industry and it started in 1954. The event is organized by The Times Group and the voting system is dual in nature – the public and committee of experts determine who is awarded. There are currently 31 awards.
Despite the questions concerning the way in which the winners are selected, the event is one of the most important ones and the only one in our list to celebrate the achievements of Indian cinematography, exclusively.

6. Film of the Year – European Film Awards



The European Film Academy uses these formerly called Felix Awards to recognize excellence in European cinema. The event is held in various cities across the continent. The most important award is the Film of the Year and it was first awarded in 1988. The films have to be European features intended for theatrical release and they must have had the first screening after July 1st of the previous year. The members of the EFA vote for nominations from a selection of 40 films and the winners are announced at the ceremony held in December.



7. The Golden Leopard – Locarno International Film Festival 



 
The festival is held each year in August and takes place in Locarno, Switzerland. The main event is the open-air screening at the Piazza Grande and the awarding of the Golden Leopard. There are other awards such as the Leopard of Honor for an outstanding career and the Prix du Public which is the people’s choice award. The festival launched the careers of some of the most important directors and actors like Terry Gilliam, Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich, Quentin Tarantino, Tim Roth, and Edward Norton. The Golden Leopard is awarded to directors and the winning films are chosen by a jury.


8. Grand Jury Prize – the Sundance Film Festival

 



The Sundance Film Festival is organized by the Sundance Institute and it takes place each year in Utah. It is the largest independent film festival in the U.S. and is the main event where independent filmmakers can showcase their work. The competitive part of the festival is for dramatic and documentary films with the most important award being the Grand Jury Prize for both categories.

The festival began in 1978 when Sterling Van Wagenen, the head of Robert Redford’s Wildwood Company, started the festival to attract more filmmakers to Utah. In 1984, the festival was taken over by the Sundance Institute and its name was changed to the Sundance Film Festival in honor of the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The Grand Jury Award is one of the best ways for independent filmmakers to boost their reputation.


9. Golden Globes




The award is given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association during an annual ceremony and dinner that held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel since 1961. The first award was given in 1943. It has since become a significant element of the film industry since the ceremony was first broadcast in 167 countries in the world, making it the third most watched awards show after the Grammy Awards and the Oscars. Actress Meryl Streep is the only person to receive eight Golden Globes and Barbra Streisand has nine if you include the honorary awards.


10. Golden Lion – Venice Film Festival





This is the first major film festival in the world, being around since 1932, and it is appreciated due to its large diversity among the chosen titles. You’ll see Asian, European and American features films bearing the same chances of winning awards. The Golden Lion was introduced in 1949 as the Golden Lion of St. Mark, a symbol of Venice, and is one of the most distinguished awards in the film industry. As with the Golden Bear I’ll get to later, they also award an honorary version of the prize for the persons that made important contributions to the film industry.





     


Bollywood Awards. Filmfare Award, IIFA Award, Screen Award, Stardust Award, Apsara Award, V Shantaram Awards, Zee Cine Award, Global Indian Film Awards, Awards - Bollywood Hungama.



The famous trophies to achieve in Bollywood Film Awards are as follows -

         
                 
    

 

 

 

 

                                           

 

 

 

Filmfare AwardTrophy                                                                           IIFA Award Trophy

 

 

 



  

 

 

 Screen Award Trophy                                                                       Stardust Award Trophy

 

                                                                                     

                            

Apsara Award Trophy                                                                      Zee Cine Award Trophy

 

The Jury of National Film Awards selects the winners from mainstream and regional cinema and confers them with National Awards.  This includes short films and documentaries too.  The winners are awarded by the President of India.

Various State Governments of India felicitates the film fraternity who belong to their regional language cinema every year with State Film Awards.

 

 

Major Film Awards of India in alphabetical order -

Arab Indo Bollywood Awards
  Nandi Awards
  Vijay Awards


CANNES FILM FESTIVAL (FESTIVAL DE CANNES) – 













Cannes, a resort town on the French Riviera, is synonymous with glamour thanks to its world-famous film festival. Its Boulevard de la Croisette, curving along the coast, is lined with sandy beaches, high end boutiques and palatial hotels. It’s also home to the Palais des Festivals, a modern building complete with red carpet and Allée des Stars – Cannes’ walk of fame.


   







    






Basking in the sun of the French Riviera, Cannes sparkles with glamour and exclusivity. This legendary seaside resort has all the glitz and allure of the Côte d'Azur: private beaches, marinas filled with luxury yachts, stylish boulevards, elegant Belle Epoque hotels, and fashionable restaurants. In an enchanting setting on Golfe de la Napoule bay, Cannes is blessed with a balmy Mediterranean climate. The weather is mild year-round and perfect for sunbathing by the beach from May through October. Leafy palm trees grace the streets of Cannes, and subtropical flowers flourish throughout the city, giving visitors the impression of being in paradise. The prestigious Film Festival of Cannes has been an important event since it began in 1946. Drawing famous movie stars from around the world, this annual red-carpet gala has earned an international reputation for promoting the art of filmmaking.

Cannes is a serious business venue for the world’s film industry.  The Cannes Red Carpet has turned the Croisette into the world’s best cat walk.

No wonder, the famous Portuguese author Paulo Coelho has made Cannes as a venue in his international bestseller book “The Winner Stands Alone”.

The Cannes Festival (French: Festival de Cannes), named until 2002 as 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, the invitation-only festival is held annually (usually in May) at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès.
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.
The 2016 Cannes Film Festival took place between 11 and 22 May 2016. Australian film director George Miller was the President of the Jury. I, Daniel Blake, directed by British director Ken Loach, won the Palme d'Or.






Aishwarya Rai Bachchan marked her 15th year at the Cannes Film Festival with a touch of elegance and grace.  She is a regular and a darling at Cannes in designer gowns and her beauty and brains are talk of the Cannes Film Festival. The Cannes festival is a roller-coaster ride for Aishwarya.
Bollywood actors Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif, Sonam Kapoor, Mallika Sherawat, Freida Pinto and Richa Chaddha are the other Indian celebrities who walked the Red Carpet at Cannes.

Thousands of photographers will be clicking pictures of the Red Carpet cat walk.
The next Cannes Film Festival will be held from 13th May to 24th May, 2017.

The Film Award functions create a prestigious aura and are celebrated in style with a festival atmosphere.

Of late International Film Festival of India is held at Goa where the joyous celebration gets a thumps up.

Being an ardent movie lover I enjoy the Film Festivals and honor the venue whenever possible with festive spirits and thus find a subject in JOHNNY’S BLOG.