1978 Cannes Film Festival

The 31st Cannes Film Festival was held from 16 to 30 May 1978. The Palme d'Or went to The Tree of Wooden Clogs by Ermanno Olmi. This festival saw the introduction of a new non-competitive section, 'Un Certain Regard', which replaces 'Les Yeux Fertiles' (1975-1977), 'L'Air du temps' and 'Le Passé composé'.

The festival opened with Moy laskovyy i nezhnyy zver, directed by Emil Loteanu and closed with Fedora, directed by Billy Wilder.

Jury
The following people were appointed as the Jury of the 1978 feature film competition:


 * Feature films
 * Alan J. Pakula (USA) - Jury President
 * Franco Brusati (Italy)
 * François Chalais (France)
 * Michel Ciment (France)
 * Claude Goretta (Switzerland)
 * Andrei Konchalovsky (Soviet Union)
 * Harry Saltzman (USA)
 * Liv Ullmann (Norway)
 * Georges Wakhévitch (France)

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


 * Blindfolded Eyes (Los ojos vendados) by Carlos Saura
 * Bravo maestro by Rajko Grlić
 * Bye Bye Monkey (Ciao maschio) by Marco Ferreri
 * The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith by Fred Schepisi
 * Coming Home by Hal Ashby
 * Despair by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
 * A Dream of Passion (Kravgi gynaikon) by Jules Dassin
 * Ecce bombo by Nanni Moretti
 * Empire of Passion (Ai no Bōrei) by Nagisa Ōshima
 * A Hunting Accident (Moy laskovyy i nezhnyy zver) by Emil Loteanu
 * The Left-Handed Woman (Die linkshändige Frau) by Peter Handke
 * Midnight Express by Alan Parker
 * Molière by Ariane Mnouchkine
 * Pretty Baby by Louis Malle
 * The Recourse to the Method (El recurso del método) by Miguel Littin
 * The Remains from the Shipwreck (Los restos del naufragio) by Ricardo Franco
 * The Shout by Jerzy Skolimowski
 * Spiral (Spirala) by Krzysztof Zanussi
 * The Tree of Wooden Clogs (L'albero degli zoccoli) by Ermanno Olmi
 * An Unmarried Woman by Paul Mazursky
 * A Very Moral Night (Egy erkölcsös éjszaka) by Károly Makk
 * Violette Nozière by Claude Chabrol
 * Who'll Stop the Rain by Karel Reisz

Un Certain Regard
The following films were selected for the competition of Un Certain Regard:


 * Un balcon en forêt by Michel Mitrani
 * Dossier 51 (Le dossier 51) by Michel Deville
 * Colonel Delmira Gouveia by Geraldo Sarno
 * Grand hôtel des palmes by Memè Perlini
 * Hitler: A Film from Germany (Hitler - ein Film aus Deutschland) by Hans-Jürgen Syberberg
 * Koko: A Talking Gorilla (Koko, le gorille qui parle) by Barbet Schroeder
 * Man of Marble (Człowiek z marmuru) by Andrzej Wajda
 * Nahapet by Henrik Malyan
 * The New Klan: Heritage of Hate by Leslie Shatz, Eleanor Bingham
 * Ocana, an Intermittent Portrait (Ocaña, retrat intermitent) by Ventura Pons
 * Oh the Days! (Alyam, alyam) by Ahmed El Maanouni
 * People Not as Bad as They Seem (Aika hyvä ihmiseksi) by Rauni Mollberg
 * Die Rückkehr des alten Herrn by Vojtěch Jasný

Films out of competition
The following films were selected to be screened out of competition:
 * Fedora by Billy Wilder
 * The Last Waltz by Martin Scorsese

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


 * Christmas Morning by Tiernan MacBride
 * A Doonesbury Special by John Hubley
 * Letter to a Friend by Sonia Hofmann
 * Maladie by Paul Vecchiali
 * Oh My Darling by Børge Ring
 * The Oriental Nightfish by Ian Emes
 * Le Serpentine d'oro by Anna Maria Tatò
 * La Traversée de l'Atlantique à la rame by Jean-François Laguionie
 * Uj lakok by Liviusz Gyulai

International Critics' Week
The following feature films were screened for the 17th International Critics' Week (17e Semaine de la Critique):
 * Alambrista! by Robert Young (United States)
 * A Breach in the Wall (Une Brèche dans le mur) by Jillali Ferhati (Morocco)
 * Fragrance of Wild Flowers (Miris poljskog cveca) by Srđan Karanović (Yugoslavia)
 * Jubilee by Derek Jarman (United Kingdom)
 * One and One (En och en) by Erland Josephson, Sven Nykvist & Ingrid Thulin (Sweden)
 * Roberte by Robert Zucca (France)
 * This Is the Night (Per questa notte) by Carlo di Carlo (Italy)
 * The Woman Across the Way (Die Frau gegenüber) by Hans Noever (West Germany)

Directors' Fortnight
The following films were screened for the 1978 Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalizateurs):


 * Alicia en la España de las maravillas by Jordi Feliu
 * Bilbao by Bigas Luna
 * Fine Manners (Les belles manières) by Jean-Claude Guiguet
 * Los Gaminos by Ciro Duran
 * The Getting of Wisdom by Bruce Beresford
 * Girlfriends by Claudia Weill
 * The Main Actor by Reinhard Hauff
 * Los Hijos de Fierro by Fernando Solanas
 * The Holy Alliance (A Santa Aliança) by Eduardo Geada
 * Insiang by Lino Brocka
 * The Mafu Cage by Karen Arthur
 * Mother and Daughter (Maternale) by Giovanna Gagliardo
 * Oka Oori Katha by Mrinal Sen
 * One and One (En och en) by Erland Josephson, Sven Nykvist, Ingrid Thulin
 * The Reign of Naples (El regno di Napoli) by Werner Schroeter
 * Renaldo and Clara by Bob Dylan
 * Rocking Horse (Susetz) by Yaky Yosha
 * The Scenic Route by Mark Rappaport
 * A Summer Rain (Chuvas de Verão) by Carlos Diegues
 * I Vecchi e I Giovani by Marco Leto
 * Zoo Zéro by Alain Fleischer

Official awards
The following films and people received the 1978 Official selection awards: Golden Camera Short films
 * Palme d'Or: The Tree of Wooden Clogs by Ermanno Olmi
 * Grand Prix:
 * Ciao maschio by Marco Ferreri
 * The Shout by Jerzy Skolimowski
 * Best Director: Nagisa Ōshima for Ai no Bōrei
 * Best Actress: Jill Clayburgh for An Unmarried Woman & Isabelle Huppert for Violette Nozière
 * Best Actor: Jon Voight for Coming Home
 * Caméra d'Or: Alambrista! by Robert M. Young
 * Short Film Palme d'Or: La Traversée de l'Atlantique à la rame by Jean-François Laguionie
 * Jury Prize: A Doonesbury Special by John Hubley, Faith Hubley and Garry Trudeau & Oh My Darling by Børge Ring

Independent awards
FIPRESCI Commission Supérieure Technique Ecumenical Jury
 * FIPRESCI Prize:
 * Man of Marble (Człowiek z marmuru) by Andrzej Wajda (Un Certain Regard - Unanimously)
 * Fragrance of Wild Flowers by Srdjan Karanovic (International Critics' Week)
 * Technical Grand Prize: Pretty Baby by Louis Malle
 * Prize of the Ecumenical Jury: The Tree of Wooden Clogs (L'albero degli zoccoli) by Ermanno Olmi

Trivia
Michael Ritchie's 1979 film An Almost Perfect Affair, a romantic comedy starring Keith Carradine and Monica Vitti, features several scenes shot on location in Cannes while the 1978 Festival was taking place. A number of prominent actors, directors and journalists who attended that year made cameo appearances in the film, including Rona Barrett, Farrah Fawcett, Brooke Shields, George Peppard, Paul Mazursky, Sergio Leone, Marco Ferreri, Rex Reed and Edy Williams.

Media

 * INA: Opening of the 1978 Festival (commentary in French)
 * INA: Chronicle of the 1978 Cannes Festival (commentary in French)