Inglourious Basterds premieres in competition at Cannes in May 2009

Quentin Tarantino's Second World War film Inglourious Basterds had its world premiere in competition at the Cannes Film Festival on 20 May 2009. It was the American director's return to the festival's main contest, where Pulp Fiction had won the Palme d'Or in 1994.

The film follows a group of Jewish-American soldiers led by Lieutenant Aldo Raine, played by Brad Pitt, who hunt Nazis in occupied France. A parallel plot centres on Shosanna Dreyfus, a young Jewish cinema owner in Paris who plans revenge on the Nazi leadership. French actress Mélanie Laurent played her, in one of her first major international roles.

The film also featured Christoph Waltz as the SS officer Hans Landa. Waltz won the festival's best actor prize for the part and later an Oscar. The premiere helped launch the film's international release, and it became one of Tarantino's biggest commercial successes. It also brought Laurent to a global audience, which is why her casting is still recalled today.