America is known for being the largest film industry in the world, according to a Medium article titled, “Top 10 Movie Industries in the World.” However, you can’t forget about the international film industry. As award show season starts, the Filmfare awards and Cannes Film Festival are prestigious international award shows.
What do dancing, singing and colorful clothing have in common? They are core features of Bollywood films, according to an article titled, “What is Bollywood — Top Examples from India’s Movie Industry.” Bollywood is a Hindi language-based film industry in Mumbai (previously called “Bombay”), India. It is also the second leading film industry in the world, according to the Medium article titled, “Top 10 Movie Industries in the World.” Bollywood itself has evolved over time. For example, it has added Western choreography and different costume styles, according to the site.
Filmfare was created in 1954 and is known to be one of the oldest Bollywood award shows according to an article titled, “Filmfare Awards History.” In 1954, the award show started with five categories, Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Music Director. Now, it has expanded to 40 different categories, some of which can include Best Short Story and Best Dialogue. The Filmfare award was only meant for films of the Hindi language in Mumbai, but later developed separate award shows for other Indian languages like Tamil, Punjabi and Bengali, according to the about section on the Filmfare site.
Filmfare usually takes place in March. However, the 2021 Filmfare Festival may get canceled as many movies were postponed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Koi Moi, a site dedicated to film and entertainment news.
The Cannes Film Festival, or the Festival de Cannes is another prestigious international film award with a long history representing films from all over the world. This year, the award show will take place from July 6 to July 17, according to the festival’s website.
Preceding the Cannes Film Festival, the Venice Film Festival, or “Venice Mostra,” was the first international film competition show, taking place in 1932. Due to politics at the time, voting was corrupted to favor Hitler, according to the Festival de Cannes site. French officials decided they wanted to create another international film festival that was not politically biased. Throughout history, the Cannes Film Festival faced a series of setbacks because of the World Wars and Cold War. The award was also controversial at times because of the explicit scenes in the winning movies. The award show did not start to gain attention until the 1970s, according to the site.
The Cannes Film Festival takes place annually in Cannes, France and has become the destination for film enthusiasts, according to an article titled, “Everything Filmmakers + Cinephiles Need to Know About the Cannes Film Festival.” The festival’s categories may sound different than other award shows. The Palme d’Or (the Golden Palm in English) is the highest prize in the award show, and the Grand Prix (Grand Prize of the Festival) is the second-best prize in the award show, according to the site.
When you talk about any award show, you have to talk about the fashion trends. Some notable outfits from the 2020 Filmfare award show can include actress Alia Bhatt, according to an article titled, “Here are the best-dressed women from the 65th Amazon Filmfare Awards 2020.” Bhatt wore a Georges Hobeika, pink and yellow gown. She had a simple dewy makeup look and her hair pushed back. Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, another actress in Bollywood, paired a white floral blouse with a matching long skirt and sheer drape.
Princess Diana had one of the most stunning looks when she attended the Cannes Film Festival in 1987, according to an article titled, “The 80 Most Glamorous Cannes Film Festival Looks of All Time.” Princess Diana wore a light blue gown with a thin scarf. Keiynan Lonsdale, an Australian actor, wore a black suit and floral patterned button-up underneath. His light hair complimented his outfit during the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, according to an article titled, “Best-dressed men at Cannes Film Festival 2019.”
So next time you’re watching the Oscars red carpet, don’t forget to check out the celebrity looks from other prestigious film festivals around the world!
