Created in the aftermath of 1968 by the Société des Réalisateurs de Films, the Directors’ Fortnight immediately sided with the avant-garde (the glorious 70s) even as it provided a breeding ground in which the Official  Selection could regularly search for its prestigious Palme-winning auteurs.

Since its inception, the Fortnight has discovered and showcased in France the first films by Werner Herzog, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Nagisa Oshima, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Ken Loach, Jim Jarmusch, Michael Haneke, Chantal Akerman, Spike Lee, Luc et Jean-Pierre  Dardenne, Sofia Coppola,  and invited Robert Bresson, Manoel de Oliveira, Stephen Frears, Jerzy Skolimowski and William Friedkin…

Among the different programs at Cannes, the Fortnight stands out for its independence of  mind, its non-competitive character and its concern to cater to non-professional audiences attending the Festival, this thanks to a subscription system and single admission ticket sales.

Anxious to be eclectic and open to all forms of cinematic endeavor, the Fortnight keeps a close watch on the annual production of fiction features, shorts and documentaries and the rise of  independent and fringe filmmaking, as well as to popular cinema when it is the expression  of an unusual talent or an original style.

The films are chosen by the executive director appointed by the SRF (Olivier Père), who is flanked by a selection team (of professionals and film critics) who  travel around the world with him and each year screen some one thousand films in search of innovative, original  and exciting works.