1978 Cannes Film Festival

The Palme d'Or went to The Tree of Wooden Clogs by Ermanno Olmi. This festival saw the introduction of a new non-competitive section, 'Un Certain Regard', which replaces 'Les Yeux Fertiles' (1975-1977), 'L'Air du temps' and 'Le Passé composé'.

1978 Cannes Film Festival

Official poster of the 31st Cannes Film Festival, an original illustration Belgian artist Jean-Michel Folon.
Opening film	Moy laskovyy i nezhnyy zver
Closing film	Fedora
Location	Cannes, France
Founded	1946
Awards	Palme d'Or (L'albero degli zoccoli)
No. of films	23 (In Competition) 14 (Un Certain Regard) 3 (Out of Competition) 10 (Short Film)
Festival date	16 May 1978 (1978-05-16) – 30 May 1978 (1978-05-30)
Website	festival-cannes.com/en
Cannes Film Festival
1979 1977

The festival opened with Moy laskovyy i nezhnyy zver, directed by Emil Loteanu and closed with Fedora, directed by Billy Wilder.

The following people were appointed as the Jury of the 1978 feature film competition:

Feature films

• Alan J. Pakula (USA) - Jury President
• Franco Brusati (Italy)
• François Chalais (France)
• Michel Ciment (France)
• Claude Goretta (Switzerland)
• Andrei Konchalovsky (Soviet Union)
• Harry Saltzman (USA)
• Liv Ullmann (Norway)
• Georges Wakhévitch (France)

In competition - Feature film

The following feature films competed for the Palme d'Or:

Un Certain Regard

The following films were selected for the competition of Un Certain Regard:

Films out of competition

The following films were selected to be screened out of competition:

• Fedora by Billy Wilder
• The Last Waltz by Martin Scorsese

Short film competition

The following short films competed for the Short Film Palme d'Or:

International Critics' Week

The following feature films were screened for the 17th International Critics' Week (17e Semaine de la Critique):

• Alambrista! by Robert Young (United States)
• A Breach in the Wall (Une Brèche dans le mur) by Jillali Ferhati (Morocco)
• Fragrance of Wild Flowers (Miris poljskog cveca) by Srđan Karanović (Yugoslavia)
• Jubilee by Derek Jarman (United Kingdom)
• One and One (En och en) by Erland Josephson, Sven Nykvist & Ingrid Thulin (Sweden)
• Roberte by Robert Zucca (France)
• This Is the Night (Per questa notte) by Carlo di Carlo (Italy)
• The Woman Across the Way [de] (Die Frau gegenüber) by Hans Noever (West Germany)

Directors' Fortnight

The following films were screened for the 1978 Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalizateurs):

 

 

Official awards

The following films and people received the 1978 Official selection awards:

• Palme d'Or: The Tree of Wooden Clogs by Ermanno Olmi
• Grand Prix:
  • Ciao maschio by Marco Ferreri
  • The Shout by Jerzy Skolimowski
• Best Director: Nagisa Ōshima for Ai no Bōrei
• Best Actress: Jill Clayburgh for An Unmarried Woman & Isabelle Huppert for Violette Nozière
• Best Actor: Jon Voight for Coming Home

Golden Camera

• Caméra d'Or: Alambrista! by Robert M. Young

Short films

• Short Film Palme d'Or: La Traversée de l'Atlantique à la rame by Jean-François Laguionie
• Jury Prize: A Doonesbury Special by John Hubley, Faith Hubley and Garry Trudeau & Oh My Darling by Børge Ring

Independent awards

FIPRESCI

• FIPRESCI Prize:
  • Man of Marble (Człowiek z marmuru) by Andrzej Wajda (Un Certain Regard - Unanimously)
  • Fragrance of Wild Flowers by Srdjan Karanovic (International Critics' Week)

Commission Supérieure Technique

• Technical Grand Prize: Pretty Baby by Louis Malle

Ecumenical Jury

• Prize of the Ecumenical Jury: The Tree of Wooden Clogs (L'albero degli zoccoli) by Ermanno Olmi

Michael Ritchie's 1979 film An Almost Perfect Affair, a romantic comedy starring Keith Carradine and Monica Vitti, features several scenes shot on location in Cannes while the 1978 Festival was taking place. A number of prominent actors, directors and journalists who attended that year made cameo appearances in the film, including Rona Barrett, Farrah Fawcett, Brooke Shields, George Peppard, Paul Mazursky, Sergio Leone, Marco Ferreri, Rex Reed and Edy Williams.