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 worlds 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 LExpress 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 worlds 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