The 1st annual Cannes Film Festival was held from 20 September to 5 October 1946.

Twenty-one countries presented their films at the "First Cannes International Film Festival", which took place at the former Casino of Cannes.

[3] There arose several technical issues, such as the tarpauline cover blowing away in a storm on the day before the winners were to be announced, the reels of Alfred Hitchcock’s Notorious shown in reverse order, and Miguel M. Delgado’s The Three Musketeers projected upside-down.

With more emphasis on creativity than in competitiveness, eighteen nations presented their films.

Eleven of them tied for the first Grand Prix of the International Festival.