INTRODUCTION
The CST and the Cannes Film Festival, long-time partners
Since 1984, the CST has been responsible for the technical management of all screenings at the Festival. Under the leadership of its chairman, the CST places a team of permanent staff at the disposal of the Festival and they are entrusted with preparing the technical and digital architecture of the theatres. The CST oversees the screenings of all the Festival selections, those of the Film Market (Palais des Festivals and Gray d’Albion) and Critics’ Week screenings (Miramar). It also validates the set-up and technical monitoring of Film Market screenings in the city. The CST coordinates all projectionists, technical teams and service providers at the Cannes Film Festival.
For the Official Selection, the CST organises and oversees night-time rehearsals with the directors and their teams. It also provides a supervisor at all screenings. The CST makes its know-how and tools available to the Festival. Its test charts, expertise and inspection software are used throughout the event to offer audiences a screening that reflects the director’s artistic vision.
CST stand – Partners’ Club
The CST at the Cannes Film Festival is also about tailor-made events, organised on our stand in the Pantiero International Village. Every year, between 15 and 20 of our partners take part in these events.
Every day, our partners introduce their companies and innovations at a cocktail that we organise.
The CST’s new rendez-vous – CanneS Technique
You can attend our masterclasses with industry professionals on the stand or follow them, live, on our platform. Over the course of an hour, they will share with you their jobs as technicians and/or the new technologies introduced by their companies. Live from 10am to 11am, don’t miss the Cannes Film Festival’s Tech rendez-vous.
Two CST awards – Technical excellence and commitment
The CST (Film Image and Sound Commission) – is a long-standing partner of the Cannes Film Festival. As a professional organisation of film technicians, it upholds the quality of the technical gesture to serve the director’s vision. In doing so, it defends values that have always been close to those of the Festival, advocating bold creativity that is remarkable both for its form and its content.
As early as the 4th edition of the Festival in 1951, the CST awarded its “Grand Prix Technique” to the film The Tales of Hoffmann by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. Since then, the prize has collected an eclectic filmography ranging from Alain Resnais to Orson Welles, from Ingmar Bergman to Shohei Imamura.
In 2003, the “Grand Prix Technique de la CST” became the “Vulcan Prize”, to recognise the exceptional contribution made by an artistic collaborator to a cinematographic work, making it possible to sublimate the director’s wishes. Tom Stern, director of photography on Clint Eastwood’s Mystic River and Tamás Zányi, sound engineer on László Nemes’ Son of Saul, are among the winners.
Renamed the “CST Award for Best Artist-Technician” in 2019, it reflected the exceptional quality of the Festival’s selection by singling out Flora Volpelière, chief editor, and Julien Poupard (AFC), director of photography, for their outstanding contribution to Ladj LY’s film Les Misérables. A special mention was also awarded to Claire Mathon (AFC), director of photography on Mati Diop’s Atlantique and Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Finally, the jury made a point of acknowledging the exceptional artistic direction of Lee Ha-jun on Gisaengchung (Parasite).
Since 2021, the CST has shown its commitment by awarding the “CST Award for best young, female film technician”.
The prize is awarded to a young woman working as head of department on a French film included in the Official Selection of the Cannes Film Festival. The Prize for best young, female film technician will be awarded every year for as long as it is necessary to strive for professional equality between women and men in the film industry. This proactive approach underlines the CST’s determination to showcase the high-quality cinematographic work produced every year by young female technicians working in France.