1961 Cannes Film Festival

The 14th Cannes Film Festival was held from 3 to 18 May 1961. The Palme d'Or went to the Une aussi longue absence, directed by Henri Colpi and Viridiana, directed by Luis Buñuel. The festival opened with Che gioia vivere, directed by René Clément.

The festival also screened Shirley Clarke's debut film The Connection due to the efforts of the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics. The success of the film caused the festival to create International Critics' Week the following year.

Jury
The following people were appointed as the Jury of the 1961 competition:

Feature films
 * Jean Giono (France) - Jury President
 * Sergei Yutkevich (Soviet Union) - Jury Vice President
 * Pedro Armendáriz (Mexico)
 * Luigi Chiarini (Italy)
 * Tonino Delli Colli (Italy)
 * Claude Mauriac (France)
 * Edouard Molinaro (France)
 * Jean Paulhan (author) (France)
 * Raoul Ploquin (France)
 * Liselotte Pulver (Switzerland)
 * Fred Zinnemann (USA)

Short films
 * Ion Popescu-Gopo (Romania) - Jury President
 * Pierre Prévert (France)
 * Jurgen Schildt (journalist) (Sweden)
 * Jean Vidal (France)
 * Jean Vivie (CST official) (France)

Feature film competition
The following feature films competed for the Palme d'Or:


 * The Brute (Dúvad) by Zoltán Fábri
 * Chronicle of Flaming Years (Povest plamennykh let) by Yuliya Solntseva
 * The Cossacks (Kazaki) by Vasili Pronin
 * Darclee by Mihai Iacob
 * The First Mass (A Primeira Missa) by Lima Barreto
 * The Fourteenth Day (Dan četrnaesti) by Zdravko Velimirović
 * Girl with a Suitcase (La Ragazza con la valigia) by Valerio Zurlini
 * Goodbye Again (Aimez-vous Brahms?) by Anatole Litvak
 * The Hand in the Trap (La Mano en la trampa) by Leopoldo Torre Nilsson
 * Her Brother (Otôto) by Kon Ichikawa
 * Hoodlum Priest by Irvin Kershner
 * I Like Mike by Peter Frye
 * The Joy of Living (Che gioia vivere) by René Clément
 * The Judge (Domaren) by Alf Sjöberg
 * The Knife (Het Mes) by Fons Rademakers
 * The Last Witness (Der Letzte Zeuge) by Wolfgang Staudte
 * The Long Absence (Une aussi longue absence) by Henri Colpi
 * The Lovemakers (La Viaccia) by Mauro Bolognini
 * Madalena by Dinos Dimopoulos
 * The Mark by Guy Green
 * Mother Joan of the Angels (Matka Joanna od aniolów) by Jerzy Kawalerowicz
 * The Passionate Demons (Line) by Nils Reinhardt Christensen
 * Plein sud by Gaston De Gerlache
 * A Raisin in the Sun by Daniel Petrie
 * Sky Above and Mud Beneath (Le Ciel et la boue) by Pierre-Dominique Gaisseau
 * A Song About the Gray Pigeon (Piesen o sivém holubovi) by Stanislav Barabáš
 * That Forward Center Died at Dawn (El Centroforward murió al amanecer) by René Múgica
 * Two Women (La Ciociara) by Vittorio De Sica
 * Viridiana by Luis Buñuel
 * The Wastrel (Il Relitto) by Michael Cacoyannis

Out of competition
The following film was selected to be screened out of competition:
 * Exodus by Otto Preminger

Short film competition
The following short films competed for the Short Film Palme d'Or:


 * Aicha by Noureddine Mechri and Francis Warin
 * Argentina paraiso de la pesca by Antonio Ber Ciani
 * The Art of Lee Hsiang-Fen by Henry T.C. Wang
 * Balgarski ansambal za narodni pesni i tanzi by Lada Boyadjieva
 * The Black Cat  by Robert Braverman
 * Cattle Ranch by Guy L. Coté
 * Children of the Sun by John Hubley and Faith Hubley
 * The Creation of Woman by Charles F. Schwep
 * Cyrus le grand by Feri Farzaneh
 * The Do-It-Yourself Cartoon Kit
 * Dog Barbos and Unusual Cross by Leonid Gaidai
 * Fantazie pro levou ruku a lidske svedomi by Pavel Hobl
 * Le Festival de Baalbeck 1960 by David McDonald
 * Folkwangschulen by Herbert Vesely
 * Foroyar by Jørgen Roos
 * Fuego en Castilla (Tactilvisión del páramo del espanto) by José Val del Omar
 * Giovedi: passeggiata by Vincenzo Gamna
 * Gorod bolshoy sudby by Ilya Kopalin
 * House of Hashimoto by Connie Rasinski
 * Hudozhnikat Zlatyu Boyadzhiev by Ivan Popov
 * Kangra et kulu by N.S. Thapa
 * Na vez by Branko Kalacic
 * Nebbia by Raffaele Andreassi
 * Paul Valéry by Roger Leenhardt
 * Párbaj by Gyula Macskássy
 * La Petite Cuillère by Carlos Vilardebó
 * Robert Frost by Sidney J. Stiber
 * Souvenirs from Sweden by Henning Carlsen
 * Taketori Monogatari  by Kazuhiko Watanabe
 * W kręgu ciszy by Jerzy Ziarnik

Official awards
The following films and people received the 1961 awards: Short films
 * Palme d'Or:
 * The Long Absence (Une aussi longue absence) by Henri Colpi
 * Viridiana by Luis Buñuel
 * Prix spécial du Jury: Mother Joan of the Angels (Matka Joanna od aniolów) by Jerzy Kawalerowicz
 * Best Director: Yuliya Solntseva for Chronicle of Flaming Years (Povest plamennykh let)
 * Best Actress: Sophia Loren for Two Women (La Ciociara)
 * Best Actor: Anthony Perkins for Goodbye Again (Aimez-vous Brahms?)
 * Short Film Palme d'Or: La Petite Cuillère by Carlos Vilardebó
 * Jury Prize - Best Short Film: Párbaj by Gyula Macskássy
 * Short film Technical Prize - Special mention: Folkwangschulen by Herbert Vesely & Fuego en Castilla (Tactilvisión del páramo del espanto) by José Val del Omar

Independent awards
FIPRESCI Commission Supérieure Technique OCIC Award Other awards
 * FIPRESCI Prize:
 * The Hand in the Trap (La Mano en la trampa) by Leopoldo Torre Nilsson
 * Chronicle of a Summer (Chronique d'un été) by Edgar Morin and Jean Rouch
 * Technical Grand Prize - Feature film Special Mention:
 * Her Brother (Otôto) by Kon Ichikawa
 * Chronicle of Flaming Years (Povest plamennykh let) by Yuliya Solntseva
 * Hoodlum Priest by Irvin Kershner
 * Gary Cooper Award: A Raisin in the Sun by Daniel Petrie

Media

 * Institut National de l'Audiovisuel: Opening of the 1961 festival (commentary in French)
 * INA: Eventful climbing of the steps at the 1961 Cannes Festival (commentary in French)
 * INA: Sidney Poitier on the question of race (1961) (commentary in French)