1955 Cannes Film Festival 1955 Cannes Film Festival The 8th Cannes Film Festival was held from 26 April to 10 May 1955. The Golden Palm went to the US film "Marty" by Delbert Mann. The festival opened with "Du rififi chez les hommes" by Jules Dassin and closed with "Carmen Jones" by Otto Preminger. Until the 1954 Festival, the whimsical way various prizes were being awarded had drawn much criticism. In answer to this, from 1955 onwards, the Jury was composed of foreign celebrities from the film industry. In 1955, the first Palme d'Or was awarded, as the highest prize of the Festival. 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