The Palme d’or

Grand Prix of the International Film Festival © RR

1946

Until 1954, the Jury of the Festival de Cannes awarded a "Grand Prix of the International Film Festival" to Best Director. Winners of this Grand Prix were then presented with a work by a contemporary artist in vogue.

The Palme, based on a design by Lucienne Lazon © RR

1954

At the end of 1954, upon the initiative of Robert Favre Le Bret, then Delegate General, the Festival's Board of Directors invited several jewellers to submit designs for a Palme, a tribute to the coat of arms of the City of Cannes. The original design which was finally selected was that of the renowned jewellery creator Lucienne Lazon. A trophy was then elaborated based on his design, with the bevelled lower extremity of the stem forming a heart, and the pedestal a sculpture in terracotta by the celebrated artist Sébastien.

Poster of the film Marty © RR

1955

In 1955, the first Palme d'Or in the history of the Festival was awarded to Delbert Mann for his film "Marty". From 1964 to 1974, the Festival temporarily resumed a Grand Prix.

The Palme in its case in 1975 © RR

1975

In 1975, the Palme d’or was reintroduced and became the enduring symbol of the  Festival de Cannes, awarded each and every year since to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition. It is presented in a case of pure red morocco leather, lined with white suede.

The Palme redesigned by Thierry de Bourqueney © RR

1980

At the beginning of the 80s, the rounded shape of the pedestal bearing the Palme, gradually changed, becoming pyramidal in 1984. In 1992, Thierry de Bourqueney redesigned the Palme and its pedestal in hand-cut crystal.

Harvey Keitel, Holly Hunter, Jane Campion and Sam Neill - Photocall - The Piano © Gérard Julien / AFP

1993

For the first time since its creation, the Palme d’or was awarded to a female director: New Zealand's Jane Campion, for "The Piano" in 1993. Gilles Jacob, former President of the Festival, remembers: “Jane is a feminist, she pointed out that she was the first woman to receive the award. I nicknamed her ‘Lady Palme d’or!’”.

The Palme of Palmes for Ingmar Bergman - Linn Ullmann and Liv Ullmann © AFP/Cartier - Patrick Hertzog / AFP

1997

On the occasion of the Festival's 50th anniversary in 1997, a "Palme of Palmes" was awarded to Ingmar Bergman, presented in his absence to his daughter, Linn Ulmann, in the presence of twenty-eight other Palme d’Or winners. The "Palme des Palmes" would later be renamed the "Palme d'or d'honneur" or "Palme d'honneur" and awarded to five other directors between 2002 and 2015 (Woody Allen, Manoel de Oliveira, Clint Eastwood, Bernardo Bertolucci and Agnès Varda), and to five actors between 2003 and 2016 (Jeanne Moreau, Catherine Deneuve, Jane Fonda, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean-Pierre Léaud).

The Palme designed by Caroline Scheufele © RR

1998

In 1998, Theo Angelopoulos was the first director to win the Palme d'or as we now know it, for his film "Eternity and a Day". The Palme was modernised under the presidency of Pierre Viot by Caroline Scheufele, President of the celebrated Swiss firm Chopard Jewellers, which now donates the trophy every year. The Palme, made of 24-carat gold, is hand cast into a wax mould, then affixed to a cushion of a single piece of cut crystal and is now presented in a case of blue morocco leather.

Björk - Award for Best Actress - Dancer in the Dark by Lars von Trier © Pascal Guyot / AFP

2000

From the 53rd Festival, two versions of the Palme were made for the Best Actor and Best Actress prizes. The first winners were Björk ("Dancer in the Dark" by Lars von Trier) and Tony Leung Chiu-wai ("In the Mood for Love" by Wong Kar-wai).

Léa Seydoux, Abdellatif Kechiche and Adèle Exarchopoulos - Palme d’or - La Vie d'Adèle - Chapitre 1 & 2 © Alberto Pizzoli / AFP

2013

In 2013, for the first time in the history of the Festival, the Palme d'or was awarded both to a director, Abdellatif Kechiche, and to his two leading actresses: Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux, for "Blue is the Warmest Color". A second Palme is always held in reserve in case of material damage, or in the event of a joint winner, but that year a third trophy had to be made.

The Palmes are delivered to the Palais des Festivals at the last minute, just a few hours before the Closing Ceremony.

Ken Loach - Palme d’or - I, Daniel Blake © Alberto Pizzoli / AFP

2016

Ken Loach was the most recent director to win the Palme d'Or in 2016 for his film 'I, Daniel Blake', presented in Competition at the 69th Festival. Having already received the celebrated trophy for "The Wind that Shakes the Barley" in 2006, he joined the seven other directors belonging to the much-coveted circle of "double Palmes": Francis Ford Coppola (1974 and 1979), Shoei Imamura (1983 and 1997), Bille August (1988 and 1992), Emir Kusturica (1985 and 1995), Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (1999 and 2005) and Michael Haneke (2009 and 2012). However,  before the creation of the Palme, the director Alf Sjöberg had also picked up two Grands Prix for "Torment" in 1946 and "Miss Julie" in 1951.

Drawing of the Palme d'Or for the 70th Festival de Cannes © Chopard

2017

For the 70^th edition of the Festival de Cannes the trophy has been specially redesigned to provide a "frosted" effect. The Palme d’Or has been exceptionally incrusted with 167 diamonds "like stardust on its leaves and stalk". The diamonds were provided by an ethical supplier certified by the Responsible Jewellery Council.

Bong Joon Ho - Palme d'or - Parasite © Pascal Le Segretain / GettyImages

2019

After winning the Palme d'or in 2019, Bong Joon-Ho's Parasite continued its absolute triumph with more than 200 international awards. The film has entered cinema legend by breaking two new records at the Oscars. It's the first time a non-English language film has won the award for best picture, but also the first time a film has won the double Oscar, for best film and best international film. It has also gone down in Festival history: Parasite is the second Palme d'or winner to be honoured with the best film Oscar (after Marty by Delbert Mann in 1955).

Julia Ducournau © John Macdougall / AFP

2021

Almost thirty years after Jane Campion, Julia Ducournau became the second woman to receive the Palme d’or, winning it for her second feature film, Titane. The French director thanked the jury for having “recognised the intense and visceral need that we have for a more fluid and more inclusive world” and “calling for more diversity in our experiences at the cinema and in our lives”.