The Cannes film festival dates back to 1932 when the first competitive international film festival was held in Venice.

In 1954 a Parisian jeweler named Suzanne Lazon came up with an idea that changed Cannes forever. As a result from then onwards, all Cannes trophies incorporated a palm leaf motif on the trophies.

In 1962 the International Critics' Week was born, created by the French Union of Film Critics as the first parallel section of the Cannes Film Festival. Its goal was to showcase first and second works by directors from all over the world.

Created in 1968 by a group of French filmmakers to present films in a forum, which was free from politics, censorship and elitism, the first Directors' Fortnight kicked off along side the festival in 1969.

Interestingly, no French film has won the top prize since 1987, when it went to Maurice Pialat's Under Satan's Sun, the story of a rural priest starring Gerard Depardieu.

There has only been one time that the Palme d'Or, the top prize at Cannes, and the Oscar for Best Picture have gone to the same movie. In 1955, Marty, the slice-of-life drama starring Ernest Borgnine as a lonely butcher, scripted by Paddy Chayefsky, won both honours.

The current form of the Golden Palm has been used since 1997 and has been designed by Caroline Scheufele-Gruosi, CEO of Chopard.

Unlike all other awards, in Cannes the top prize is frequently shared between two films.

The Spice Girls entered headlines for storming into the festival in 1997 to promote a film they had yet to actually make.

In the year 2007, India was in the spotlight at the Cannes film festival. Not only was India the partner country at the opening night of the Cannes film market dinner party, seven exclusive Indian films were showcased with two days.