2008 Cannes Film Festival 2008 Cannes Film Festival The 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival was held from 14 to 25 May 2008. The President of the Official Jury was American actor and director Sean Penn. Twenty two films from fourteen countries were selected to compete for the "Palme d'Or". The awards were announced on 24 May. The film "The Class" ("Entre les murs"), directed by Laurent Cantet won the "Palme d'Or". The festival opened with "Blindness", directed by Fernando Meirelles and closed with "What Just Happened", directed by Barry Levinson. Édouard Baer was the master of ceremonies. "Hunger", directed by Steve McQueen, opened the
Cannes Film Festival appointed Honorary President in 2000, and in 2002, the Festival officially adopted the name "Festival de Cannes". During the 2000s, the Festival started focusing more on the technological advances taking place in the film world, especially the digital techniques. In 2004 the restored historical films of the Festival were presented as "Cannes Classics", which included documentaries. In 2007 Thierry Frémaux became General Delegate. In 2009 he extended the Festival in Buenos Aires, as "La Semana de Cine del Festival de Cannes", and in 2010 he created the "Cannes Court Métrage" for the Short Film competition. Festival Director Thierry Fremaux is