The 14th Cannes Film Festival was held from 3 to 18 May 1961. The Palme d'Or went to the Une aussi longue absence, directed by Henri Colpi and Viridiana, directed by Luis Buñuel. The festival opened with Che gioia vivere, directed by René Clément. The festival also screened Shirley Clarke's debut film The Connection due to the efforts of the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics. The success of the film caused the festival to create International Critics' Week the following year. Jury The following people were appointed as the Jury of the 1961 competition: Feature films Jean Giono (France) Jury President Sergei Yutkevich (Soviet Union) Vice President Pedro Armendáriz (Mexico) Luigi Chiarini (Italy) Tonino Delli Colli (Italy) Claude Mauriac (France) Edouard Molinaro (France) Jean Paulhan (France) (author) Raoul Ploquin (France) Liselotte Pulver (Switzerland) Fred Zinnemann (USA) Short films Ion Popescu-Gopo (Romania) Pierre Prévert (France) Jurgen Schildt (Sweden) (journalist) Jean Vidal (France) Jean Vivie (France) (CST official) Feature film competition The following feature films competed for the Palme d'Or: The Brute (Dúvad) by Zoltán Fábri Chronicle of Flaming Years (Povest plamennykh let) by Yuliya Solntseva The Cossacks (Kazaki) by Vasili Pronin Darclee by Mihai Iacob The First Mass (A Primeira Missa) by Lima Barreto The Fourteenth Day (Dan četrnaesti) by Zdravko Velimirović Girl with a Suitcase (La Ragazza con la valigia) by Valerio Zurlini Goodbye Again (Aimez-vous Brahms?) by Anatole Litvak The Hand in the Trap (La Mano en la trampa) by Leopoldo Torre Nilsson Her Brother (Otôto) by Kon Ichikawa Hoodlum Priest by Irvin Kershner I Like Mike by Peter Frye The Joy of Living (Che gioia vivere) by René Clément The Judge (Domaren) by Alf Sjöberg The Knife (Het Mes) by Fons Rademakers The Last Witness (Der Letzte Zeuge) by Wolfgang Staudte The Long Absence (Une aussi longue absence) by Henri Colpi The Lovemakers (La Viaccia) by Mauro Bolognini Madalena by Dinos Dimopoulos The Mark by Guy Green Mother Joan of the Angels (Matka Joanna od aniolów) by Jerzy Kawalerowicz The Passionate Demons (Line) by Nils Reinhardt Christensen Plein sud by Gaston De Gerlache A Raisin in the Sun by Daniel Petrie Sky Above and Mud Beneath (Le Ciel et la boue) by Pierre-Dominique Gaisseau A Song About the Gray Pigeon (Piesen o sivém holubovi) by Stanislav Barabáš That Forward Center Died at Dawn (El Centroforward murió al amanecer) by René Múgica Two Women (La Ciociara) by Vittorio De