RULES & REGULATIONS 2009 Films in Competition, Out of Competition, Un Certain Regard Article 1
The spirit of the Festival de Cannes is one of friendship and universal cooperation. Its aim is
to reveal and focus attention on works of quality in order to contribute to the evolution of
motion picture arts and to encourage development of the film industry throughout the world.
Article 2
The 62nd Festival de Cannes will be held from Wednesday May 13th to Sunday May 24th,
2009.
Article 3
The Board of Directors chooses and invites the films which will be presented in Competition,
Out of Competition or for Un Certain Regard.
Each film invited to be part of the Official Selection by the Board of Directors will receive a
Certificate of Participation.
Only films that meet the following conditions may be chosen for invitation in the Official
Selection:
• 1) Films that have been produced during the twelve months preceding the Festival;
• 2) Films that have not been released anywhere other than their country of origin;
• 3) Films that have not been presented at any other international motion picture event;
• 4) Films that have not been exhibited on Internet;
• 5) Films that respect the aims of the Festival as defined in Article 1;
• 6) If participating in the "short film" category, films that do not exceed 15 minutes in length,
including credits.
Article 4
Once a film has been selected it cannot be withdrawn from the Festival programme during the
event.
Article 5
During the entire duration of the Festival de Cannes, none of the films invited may be shown
outside the Festival's official theatres before its official screening.
Article 6
All films must be presented in their original language, with French subtitles. By "original
language" is meant the one in which a film is or will be exhibited in its country of origin.
It is for the Board of Directors to decide whether or not a film that does not exactly meet this
criterion may participate in the Festival. French films must be subtitled in English on the print.
All subtitling expenses are to be met by the film's producer. Moreover, all films with dialogues in a language different from English or French will be
electronically subtitled in English. The screening of those subtitles will be operated by the
Festival service provider.
Article 7
The Board of Directors designates the eight foreign and French members of the Jury for the
feature films in competition as well as its President.
Each Jury member votes by secret ballot. Decisions will be reached by an absolute majority of
votes in the first two ballots and by a relative majority vote in the following ballots. The President and the General Delegate of the Festival de Cannes will attend Jury deliberations but will take no part in the voting.
The Board of Directors also designates the four members and the President of the Jury for the
Cinéfondation and the short films in competition.
No person having taken part in the production or exploitation of a film in competition may be
on the Jury.
Article 8
The Jury is obliged to award:
• The Palme d'Or;
• The Grand Prix;
• The award for the Best Director;
• The Jury Prize;
• The award for the Best Screenplay;
• The award for the Best Actress;
• The award for the Best Actor.
The prize list must not contain more than one joint award. The Palme d'Or can never be
awarded jointly.
No film can receive more than one award. However, the award for the Best Screenplay and
the Jury Prize can be combined with a Best Performance award, on special dispensation of the
Festival's President.
Article 8 bis
SHORT FILMS
Besides the Cinéfondation prizes, the Cinéfondation and Short Film Jury is obliged to award:
• The Palme d'Or - Short Film.
Article 9
The producers of feature films participating in Competition at the Festival de Cannes agrees
to refrain from entering their films in competition at other international motion picture events
should their films be awarded the Palme d'Or or the Grand Prix.
Films chosen to be part of the Official Selection agree to use the "Official Selection" logotype
of the Festival de Cannes on all publicity. What is more, when publicising awards, the award
winners and distribution companies agree to use the exact wording of the awards as set out in
the graphic charter of the Festival de Cannes.
The Festival de Cannes' graphic charter is available on the official website:
www.festival-
cannes.com Article 10
All films to be submitted for the Official Selection must be entered by March 17th, 2009.
An entry form must be filled out on our website www.festival-cannes.com prior to this date.
A print, videocassette or DVD of the films submitted for selection must reach the Festival by
March 20th, 2009.
Article 11
Complete documentation for each selected film is to be made available to the Film
Department when required.
The final print of each invited film must reach the sole receiving shipping agent accredited by
the Festival de Cannes by May 11th, 2009.
In case the final print does not reach the Festival by May 11th, 2009, the film won’t be
screened. This dead-line is imperative.
A stand-by print of each film with subtitles must be provided to the Festival de Cannes before
the start of the Festival.
Article 12
Expenses for the shipping (for both import and export), screening and translation of films
and/or cassettes presented to the Selection Committee with a view to their possible selection,
are to be met by the film's producers or relevant body.
All expenses for the transportation (round trip) and insurance of prints are also the
responsibility of their owner.
The Festival de Cannes covers storage and insurance costs for the prints of selected films
while they are inside the official boundaries of the Festival, in Cannes.
Should a print be lost or damaged, the Festival's responsibility may only be engaged to the
extent of the value indicated by the producer on the Technical Data Sheet (Fiche Technique).
Article 13
The President of the Association Française du Festival International du Film has the power to
settle all cases not covered by the present rules and regulations.
Article 14
Participation in the Festival de Cannes implies acceptance of all the aforementioned
regulations and respect of preselection conditions.
Should any dispute arise regarding the interpretation of an article in these regulations, their
original French version is binding.
These rules apply to all sections of the official selection: Competition, Out of Competition,
Un Certain Regard (except Cinéfondation - cf. Cinéfondation Rules and Regulations).
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