The 55th Cannes Film Festival took place from 15 to 26 May 2002. American filmmaker David Lynch served as jury president for the main competition. Virginie Ledoyen hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. French-Polish filmmaker Roman Polanski won the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, for the drama film The Pianist. While American filmmaker Woody Allen was awarded with the inaugural Honorary Palme d'Or, given to a director who had achieved a notable body of work but who had never won the regular Palme d'Or. The festival opened with Hollywood Ending by Woody Allen, and closed with Claude Lelouch's And Now... Ladies and Gentlemen.

Juries

Main Competition

Un Certain Regard

Cinéfondation and Short Film Competition

Camera d'Or

Official Selection

In Competition

The following feature films competed for the Palme d'Or:

Un Certain Regard

The following films were selected for the competition of Un Certain Regard:

Out of Competition

The following films were selected to be screened out of competition:

Cinéfondation

The following short films were selected for the competition of Cinéfondation:

Short film competition

The following short films competed for the Short Film Palme d'Or:

Parallel sections

International Critics' Week

The following films were screened for the 41st International Critics' Week (41e Semaine de la Critique): Feature film competition Short film competition Special screenings

Directors' Fortnight

The following films were screened for the 2002 Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalizateurs):

1939 Palme d'Or

The inaugural Cannes Film Festival was to have been held in 1939, but was cancelled by the outbreak of the Second World War. The organizers of the 2002 festival assembled a jury of six members, including Dieter Kosslick and Alberto Barbera, to watch seven of the twelve features which had been entered in the 1939 competition, namely: Goodbye, Mr. Chips, La piste du nord, Lenin in 1918, The Four Feathers, The Wizard of Oz, Union Pacific, and Boefje. Union Pacific was retrospectively voted the winner of the 1939 Palme d'Or.

Official Awards

The following films and people received the 2002 Official selection awards:

Main Competition

Honorary Palme d'Or

Un Certain Regard

Cinéfondation

Caméra d'Or

Short Films Competition

Independent Awards

FIPRESCI Prizes

Prize of the Ecumenical Jury

Award of the Youth

International Critics' Week

Directors' Fortnight

François Chalais Award

Media