biarritz festival du film maudit

Established legitimate festival

The Festival du Film Maudit was a historic, one-off film festival held in Biarritz, France from July 29 to August 5, 1949, organized by the avant-garde cine-club Objectif 49 under the presidency of Jean Cocteau and André Bazin. It notably showcased 'cursed' films—works unjustly ignored by the public, banned by censorship, or feared to fail commercially—divided into categories of amateur/experimental shorts, 'maudit' films, and foreign unseen features, in direct opposition to the commercial festivals of Cannes and Venice. Though it ran only twice (ending in 1950), it is considered a founding myth of French cinephilia and a pivotal moment that helped launch the critical discourse leading to the Cahiers du cinéma and the French New Wave.

Last updated Jul 16, 2026

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