The 71st Cannes Film Festival will start one day earlier than it was originally announced. The opening gala will take place on the evening of Tuesday, 8th of May with the closing ceremony happening on Saturday, 19th of May.
The festival ends the decade-long tradition of awarding the Palme d'Or on a Sunday, moving it to a Saturday. According to the organisers, "This new schedule will allow us to rebalance the two weeks of the event and to bring new energy to the proceedings. [...] Finally, bringing forward the announcement of awards by one day, to Saturday evening, will increase its prestige, while at the same time giving the closing film better exposure."
It seems like 2018 will see a different festival from what we are used to. Pierre Lescure, the festival's president, stated that "Following 2017’s anniversary edition, the Festival is beginning a new period in its history. We intend to renew the principles of our organisation as much as possible while continuing to question the cinema of our age and to be present through its upheavals."
What will surely remain the same is the quality of the films on show, and the number of celebrities in attendance!
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2018 Cannes Film Festival dates changed