Cannes, le Festival Libre plot
The first Cannes Film Festival was conceived as a bulwark against Nazism. It should have taken place in 1939. In 1938, Philippe Erlanger, a senior official in the national education system, journalist and art critic, was outraged by the program of the Venice Festival, which turned out to be absorbed by the Fascist and Nazi regimes. Aware of the threats to free speech, he wanted to set up a counterparty that would be a cultural bulwark against the barbarity that was to come. Jean Zay, Minister of Public Education and Fine Arts, joined him in his project. The two men moved heaven and earth (and grants) to host the event that was to take place on September 1, 1939.