1959 Cannes Film Festival

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
Antonin Brousil, Czechoslovakian
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:

Short Films Competition

The following short films competed for the Short Film Palme d'Or:

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