How did the iconography of the laurels around film festival submissions begin?

My assumption is that a crown of laurels was always given to winners of competitions and games in Greek and Roman times. It’s also symbol of leadership.

I’m with Amurph. Laurels have long symbolized victors. Film festival winners and selections are now just continuing that tradition.

Was there a festival where it first occurred?

Olympics!

Here is one citation:

“Among the Greeks the laurel was sacred to Apollo, especially in connexion with Tempe, in whose laurel groves the god himself obtained purification from the blood of the Python. This legend was dramatically represented at the Pythian festival once in eight years, a boy fleeing from Delphi to Tempe, and after a time being led back with song, crowned and adorned with laurel.”

The Pythian games date back to an estimated 382 BC.

Because of its strong chemical properties, laurel is poisonous. According to the History of Religions, it was thought to ward off demons.

Although the Olympic games were older, the laurel comes from the Pythian games (associated with worship of Apollo rather than Zeus [Olympics]).

No no, sorry, all.. a film festival where it first occurred—and why is it ubiquitous across all film festivals?

Ah. Much different.

Still have not found a precise answer. This interesting article is decrying their overuse.

Excerpt:

“Laurels signified prestige in Greek and Roman times when they were given to poets and winners of competitions. The Cannes Film Festival gave out its first Golden Palm (Palme d’Or) in 1955 to director Delbert Mann for his film “Marty,” according to festival spokeswoman Christine Aimé.

The award’s design still consists of a single palm, in honor of the city’s coat of arms.

No one interviewed for this article could recall when the parentheses-style wreaths first popped up in advertising. Berney thinks that the current proliferation “probably has something to do with Harvey Weinstein, as many innovations in independent film marketing do.”

Weinstein, co-founder of the Weinstein Company, is known for his muscular marketing of independent films in the ‘90s with his former company, Miramax. “The art-house-going and upscale audiences know what the laurels mean,” Weinstein said in an e-mail. “They understand the film festival circuit and know that awards from those festivals signify quality in film.”