Recognized by FIAPF - International Federation of Film Producers Associations as a "non-specialized festival with a feature film competition" - Category A.

"The Festival is an apolitical no-man's-land, a microcosm of what the world would be like if people could contact each other directly and speak the same language" Jean Cocteau

More widely known as the "Festival de Cannes", the Association Française du Festival International du Film, created in 1946, is a French association under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, state-approved in 1972. Every year, the artistic delegate of the International Film Festival, assisted by the selection committees, selects and invites the films which will make up the Official Selection (approximately fifty feature films and thirty short films a year). These films are presented at the Palais des Festivals and divided up into according to the following categories:

Feature Films In Competition and Out of Competition - This program, made up of approximately twenty films competing for the Palme d'Or, is the main part of the official selection. Films of the same category are exceptionally presented Out of Competition in Salle Lumiere.

Short Films - Every year, approximately fifteen international short films compete for the Short Film Palme d'Or award.

Un Certain Regard - This official category (non-competitive) is a natural complement to the competition. Every year, Un Certain Regard presents approximately twenty films in Salle Debussy.

Cinéfondation - Since 1998, Cinéfondation has been presenting around fifteen short and mini feature films from film schools. The Cinéfondation films are presented in Salle Luis Buñuel.

Caméra d'Or - Recognized around the world, this prize plays a principal role in identifying and acknowledging emerging talent and in the promotion of films from various nationalities. Created in 1978 by Gilles Jacob, the Caméra d'Or asserted itself immediately by its importance and by the generosity it embodies.