Lifestyle

CANNES IS APPLYING TO BE ON UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE LIST

TO REGISTER THE BAY OF CANNES


(Source: City of Cannes)
(Source: Unesco)
USPA NEWS - More than ever, Cannes Festival is the Premier Event in the world. It stands out amongs the other International Cinematographic Events as the Berlin or Venice Festivals. The Bay of Cannes consists of the Lérins Islands and La Croisette....
Regarding the History of Cannes, the Mayor of the City, David LISNARD, wrote a letter to Fleur PELLERIN, the Minister of Culture and Communication. He made official the application for the Bay of Cannes to be registered on the Unesco World Heritage List. He emphasized that Cannes is an unique site : environmental, heritage and clutural characteristics giving an exceptional value going back 2,300 years.
Every year, La Croisette hosts the prestigious Festival de Cannes, the world leading cultural event, as well as a variety of international events such as the International Festival of Creativity (Lions Cannes), the Tax Free World Exhibition, MIP TV, MIP COM, MIDEM...

Added to the culture interest of the Island, is the remarkable natural beauty and environmental wealth, awarded the Natura 2000 Label in 2013. The biodiversity and emblematic Mediterranean landscapes are made of coastal forests, rock creeks and beaches which attract tourists and scientists alike.
The Mayor of Cannes stated that the Lérins Islands and the Bay of Cannes, have the required potential to be registered on the list as a « natural and mixed heritage », the site giving an exceptional value in terms of history, culture and natural beauty.

The birth of Cannes Film Festival was in 1939. The original aspect of the event was emphasized : each country would select a film to be proposed for the competition. Crisis was building in the summer 1939, German military operations changed the face of Europe and only nine countries agreed to take part in the First Festival. France wanted to do as well as Italy, giving its Festival an equally prestigious setting. Cannes and Biarritz were included in the list of some ten French cities.
On May 31, 1939, the City of Cannes and the French Government signed the International Film Festival's official birth certificate.

The Festival contributed to the discovery of cinemas that were relatively unknown in Europe. In 1954, the first scandal erupted with the affair of the young British actress Simone SILVA, who was photographed topless with Robert MITCHUM at a picnic on the Lérins Islands. France's transition from the 4th Republic to the 5th was not easy, and it nearly brought down the young Cannes film Festival. André MALRAUX became the International Film Festival's organiser. Since its creation, the Cannes Film Festival has seen quite few scandals due to the choice of the film selected, for various reasons.
While the American Majors were boycotting the Festival to protest the GATT accords (a quota of images that Europe and France wanted to impose in the name of cultural exception), American independent cinema made its presence felt on the Croisette by giving the key prize, the Palme d'Or, to the film « Baron Fink » by Joel and Ethan Cohen. Over the years, new film genres appeared with more socially engaged screenplays....

City of Cannes
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