At the heart of the most prestigious film festival in the world, the Marché du Film welcomes participants from all over the world every year. It represents the largest international gathering of professionals in the sector.
The Marché du Film was born in 1959, in a small canvas screening room perched on the roof of the former Palais Croisette.
It was on the occasion of the 13th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, the very first international post-war cultural event that in a few years became the unmissable meeting place for film professionals.
Under the canvas, several dozen festival-goers aware of the growing influence of the Festival decided to organize themselves to facilitate meetings between the professionals present.
In this bubbling and festive atmosphere, the Marché du Film was born.
An event ahead of its time
The Marché du Film is an innovation for the film industry: it creates an inspiring environment that encourages emulation between professionals. The working, screening and exchange conditions are like the Cannes Film Festival, both flexible and free. Business cards are exchanged and projects come to life.
Forming two sides of the same coin, the Marché du Film and the Cannes Film Festival have established themselves over the years as the key event for all cinemas.
The Film Market today
More than 14,000 film professionals flock to the Film Market each year to present and discover nearly 4,000 films and projects in 33 screening rooms.
Building on this success, the space expanded in the 2000s with the opening of the Riviera and Lérins, forming a structured hub around the famous Palais des Festivals and the International Village, a major promotional venue for all the world’s cinemas.
And tomorrow?
As a world leader in the film industry, the Marché du Film adapts to the expectations of professionals and to the economic, technological and creative developments in the film industry with a high level of requirement.
With the same objective in mind as at the beginning: to guarantee the flourishing health of all cinemas.
The Marché du Film sets sail: Ventana Sur
The Marché du Film and the Instituto Nacional de Cine y Artes Audiovisuales (INCAA) launched Ventana Sur in 2008, which quickly became a major market for audiovisual content in Latin America.
This market brings together all the different players in the audiovisual industry to promote the co-production, financing and international distribution of Latin American content.
