The Palme d'Or replaced Cannes' Grand Prix in 1955 with a golden palm inspired by the city's coat of arms. What is the Palme d'Or and why it matters starts with that trophy moment on closing night.

Master goldsmiths shape each trophy from eighteen-karat gold and rock crystal. What is the Palme d'Or and why it matters when craftsmanship meets cinema's most watched awards stage each May.

Delbert Mann's Marty won the first Palme d'Or in 1955. What is the Palme d'Or and why it matters decades later when every May jury crowns a new competition champion.

No Palme was awarded in 1968 when student protests halted the festival mid-run. What is the Palme d'Or and why it matters proves the trophy is inseparable from Croisette history.

Pulp Fiction, Parasite, and Anatomy of a Fall each rewrote distribution math after winning. What is the Palme d'Or and why it matters when the trophy shifts Oscar-season trajectories overnight.