According to American film critic Dave Kehr, the award is "intended to recognize an original work that embodies the spirit of inquiry.

Ken Loach and Andrea Arnold have won the most awards in this category, each winning three.

Four directing teams have shared the award: Enrico Gras, Giorgio Moser and Leonardo Bonzi for Lost Continent (1955), Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud for Persepolis (2007), Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles for Bacurau (2019), and Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch for The Eight Mountains (2022).

In 1954, after facing much criticism about the whimsical nature of these awards, the Festival authorities decided to turn to a more traditional prize-giving arrangement.

[3] Since then, the Prix spécial du Jury reappeared only twice: Christopher Hampton won that award for Carrington along with the regular Prix du Jury given to Xavier Beauvois for Don't Forget You're Going to Die in 1995; and David Cronenberg won for Crash in 1996, which was the only prize allotted by the International Jury for that year.