The ninth Cannes Film Festival was held from April 23 to May 10, 1956.
The Palme d’Or went to the documentary The Silent World by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Louis Malle.
It was the first of only two times that the top award goes to a documentary; the other being in 2004, when the Tarantino-led jury awarded Fahrenheit
The festival opened with Marie-Antoinette reine de France, directed by Jean Delannoy.
The closing night was Il tetto (The Roof) by Vittorio De Sica.
Cold War Impact
In an effort to resolve some issues caused by the Cold War climate, like special treatment towards Americans (who gave financial assistance), which displeased the Eastern Bloc, a decision was made to have films withdrawn under certain conditions.
This decision had become a divisive issue in the festival, seen as censorship. In 1956 it was decided to eliminate censorship from the selection and thereby start a new era in the festival.
Jury
Feature Films
Once again, the Competition Jury was headed by a French man, and most of the juror were Gallic too.
Director Otto Preminger was the only U.S. rep on the jury.
Maurice Lehmann (France) Jury President
Arletty (France)
Louise de Vilmorin (France)
Jacques-Pierre Frogerais (France)
Henri Jeanson (France)
Domenico Meccoli (Italy)
Otto Preminger (USA)
James Quinn (UK)
Roger Regent (France)
María Romero (Chile)
Sergei Vasilyev (Soviet Union)
Jury of Short films
Francis Bolen (Belgium)
Antonin Brousil (Czechoslovakia)
Henri Fabiani (France)
Paul Grimault (France)
Jean Perdrix (France)
Feature Film Competition
Afternoon of the Bulls (Tarde de toros) by Ladislao Vajda
Christ in Bronze (Seido no Kirisuto) by Minoru Shibuya
Dalibor by Václav Krška
The Girl in Black (To Koritsi me ta mavra) by Michael Cacoyannis
Hanka by Slavko Vorkapić
The Harder They Fall by Mark Robson
The Hidden One (La escondida) by Roberto Gavaldón
I Live in Fear (Ikimono no kiroku) by Akira Kurosawa
I’ll Cry Tomorrow by Daniel Mann
Item One (Tochka parva) by Boyan Danovski
The Leech (Shabab emraa) by Salah Abu Seif
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit by Nunnally Johnson
The Man Who Knew Too Much by Alfred Hitchcock
The Man Who Never Was by Ronald Neame
Marie Antoinette Queen of France (Marie-Antoinette reine de France) by Jean Delannoy
Merry-Go-Round’ (Körhinta)’ by Zoltán Fábri
Mother (Mat) by Mark Donskoi
Mozart by Karl Hartl
The Mystery of Picasso (Le mystère Picasso) by Henri-Georges Clouzot
Othello by Sergei Yutkevich
Pather Panchali by Satyajit Ray
The Phantom Horse (Maboroshi no uma) by Koji Shima
The Protar Affair (Afacerea Protar) by Haralambie Boros
The Railroad Man (Il ferroviere) by Pietro Germi
Road to Life (Pedagogicheskaya poema) by Aleksei Maslyukov and Mechislava Mayevskaya
The Roof (Il tetto) by Vittorio De Sica
Seagulls Die in the Harbour (Meeuwen sterven in de haven) by Roland Verhavert,
Ivo Michiels and Rik Kuypers
Seven Years in Tibet by Hans Nieter
Shadow (Cien) by Jerzy Kawalerowicz
Shevagyachya Shenga by Shantaram Athavale
The Silent World (Le Monde du silence) by Jacques-Yves Cousteau & Louis Malle
Smiles of a Summer Night (Sommarnattens leende) by Ingmar Bergman
Sob o Céu da Bahia by Ernesto Remani
Talpa by Alfredo B. Crevenna
El Último perro by Lucas Demare
The Unwilling Doctor (Toubib el affia) by Henry Jacques
Walk Into Paradise by Lee Robinson
Wild Love (Gli innamorati) by Mauro Bolognini
Yield to the Night by J. Lee Thompson
Awards
Maurice Lehmann, Jury President
Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Palme d’Or winner
Official Awards
Palme d’Or: The Silent World (Le Monde du silence) by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Louis Malle
Jury Special Prize: The Mystery of Picasso (Le mystère Picasso) by Henri-Georges Clouzot
Best Director: Sergei Yutkevich for Othello
Best Acting Award: Susan Hayward for I’ll Cry Tomorrow
In 1955 and 1956 the award was given without any gender differentiation.
Best Human Document: Pather Panchali by Satyajit Ray
Best Poetic Humor: Smiles of a Summer Night (Sommarnattens leende) by Ingmar Bergman
Short Films
Short Film Palme d’Or: The Red Balloon by Albert Lamorisse
Best Fiction Film: Magdana’s Donkey (Lurdza magdany) by Tengiz Abuladze and Rezo Chkheidze
Best Documentary:
Andre Modeste Gretry by Lucien Deroisy
La corsa delle rocche by Gian Luigi Polidoro
Special Mention: Loutky Jiriho Trnky (The Puppets of Jiri Trnka) by Bruno Sefranek
Special Mention – Investigative Film: Together by Lorenza Mazzetti
Tant qu’il y aura des bêtes by Braissai
Independent Awards
OCIC Award
The Roof (Il tetto) by Vittorio De Sica
Special Mention:
The Railroad Man (Il ferroviere) by Pietro Germi
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit by Nunnally Johnson
Father Panchali by Satyajit Ray
