Gilles Jacob was born in Paris in 1930. Renowned film critic and enthusiast, he was elected general delegate in 1978, and President of the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in 2000. He has also written for Les Nouvelles littéraires, L’Express and Le Masque et la plume. He is the author of the essay Le Cinéma moderne (1964), the novel Un jour, une mouette (1964), the anthology Les Visiteurs de Cannes (1992), and the collection of his photographs in Livre d’Or (2010).

"[Gilles Jacob] at 81 is still the man who greets the great and good on the red carpet... [A] lively and frank memoir... Jacob is refreshingly honest about the machinations over film selections and the deliberations of juries... These are the cheeky, often comic recollections of an influential cinephile... Jacob's more gossipy instincts are balanced by a love of cinema and a sobering account of his wartime experiences"—Time Out"Jacob is responsible for directing the festival with intelligence, wit and good taste. Here is own long career-story of it all. The book's style is most informal and chatty such that after a few chapters, you honestly feel you know him and could enjoy his company immensely... Full of anecotes... Should be in every cineaste's library."—Screen Trade"An... enthralling look behind the scenes of the most glamorous film festival in the world."—Lurzer's International Archive