TikTok on Cannes Film Festival red carpet

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To win prizes at the Cannes Film Festival, you no longer need millions of cash or a distribution deal; all you need is a mobile phone and a little creativity.

With the world's leading film gathering celebrating its 75th year this year, TikTok became an official sponsor.

This has attracted some of the video platform's greatest stars to the French Riviera, including Italian-Senegalese superstar Khaby Lame and his 139 million followers, violating the festival's normal red carpet selfie ban.

TikTok and Lame have also sponsored a short film competition, with awards awarded by a jury of cinema professionals.

"You might think that three minutes is short, but we really tried to judge them just as we would a film of 120 minutes," jury member and French director Camille Ducellier told an audience gathered for the prize-giving on Friday. 

Mabuta Motoki of Japan, with a simple but moving film about traditional wood carving, and Matej Rimanic of Slovenia, with a mini-ode to black-and-white silent comedies, shared first place. However, Cannes' youngest competition did not go entirely smoothly.  

The jury's chairman, French-Cambodian filmmaker Rithy Panh, quit short the day before the ceremony, accusing TikTok of attempting to influence the selections.

"TikTok reversed course and gave us back our sovereignty," Panh told AFP, saying they had eventually been given the freedom to award "the films that we chose."

'One-minute masterpiece

"There were beautiful, poetic films that were just one minute, that told everything from the difficulties in life, to traditions, humour, pain, love -- it's not easy to do in one shot and one minute," Panh said.

Some 70,000 videos were entered for #TikTokShortFilm from 44 countries, the organizers said. 

Eric Garandeau, head of TikTok France, said it could inject new life into filmmaking. 

"Today, cinema is sometimes a bit 'obese' and TikTok offers a shorter alternative and a more intense experience," he said. He chose not to comment on the reasons for the jury president's temporary resignation.