Short answers, pulled from the story.
The city of Cannes was selected to host the first International Film Festival on the 31st of May 1939. This decision was made just days before the world would be plunged into war.
The festival was born out of a desperate need to create a neutral ground for cinema free from political interference. It was established after the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and the German leader Adolf Hitler overruled the jury to award their own propaganda films at the Venice Film Festival.
The festival finally reopened on the 20th of September 1946. It took place at the former Casino of Cannes with films from twenty-one countries.
The festival moved to the spring in 1951 to avoid clashing with the Venice Film Festival. This decision defined its annual calendar for decades.
Iris Knobloch was elected as the first woman president of the festival in 2022. She succeeded Pierre Lescure in this role.
The festival faced its first cancellation since 1968 in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This decision marked a break from its tradition of holding the event in May.