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Plenty of people make this mistake. But in French, the word con is a vulgar insult descended from the same root as the English c-word. Only a few dozen films are selected to show during the festival, often from prestigious directors whose work has previously played at Cannes. There are also a number of sections that run parallel to the festival and are programmed by outside organizations during the festival.
There are other juries too , which pick films to receive other specialized awards. For instance, director Nadine Labaki is presiding over a jury that will select winners from the Un Certain Regard section. Cannes is widely considered the most prestigious film festival in the world, mainly because of its exclusivity and long history of premiering some of the greatest films of all time.
The festival has launched the careers of many prominent filmmakers, like Quentin Tarantino and Steven Soderbergh. Cannes carefully cultivates its image by programming a limited number of films; by giving awards selected by juries that are stacked with well-known filmmakers, actors, and composers from around the world; and by maintaining the largest film market in the world.
It can also propel a film toward success during awards season, months later; The Artist , for instance, premiered at Cannes in , where star Jean Dujardin won the Best Actor award. It went on to win five Oscars, including Best Picture — the first French film ever to win that prize. Filmmakers who hope to find funding and distribution for their films spend their days at Cannes networking with financiers, distributors, and publicists from all over the world. But the chance of distribution draws a huge crowd to Cannes, nonetheless.
