Gilles Jacob: Citizen Cannes

In 1978, Gilles Jacob landed what must seem like a dream job to many film buffs — he became the director of the Cannes Film Festival, the world’s biggest and most prestigious event for international cinema. Born in 1930 to a Jewish family, Jacob survived World War II by hiding out in a Catholic seminary, and developed a passion for movies as a teenager, attending school alongside future director Claude Chabrol. In his late teens, Jacob founded his own film magazine, Raccords, and he later became the chief film reviewer for L’Express (where he lost his job for having the temerity to give The Story of O a bad review). In 1978, Jacob took over as director of the Cannes Film Festival, and set out to make the world’s greatest film festival even better by creating new showcases for promising talent (while still maintaining room for gifted veteran filmmakers), expanding the facilities and continuing to entertain and challenge audiences each year.