I've been here just one day and already the cool and crazy has hit me. It's my 7th Cannes and each time I am reminded of the strange mix of glamour, art and commerce that Cannes mixes effortlessly.
Cannes is of course first a world class festival. There's the main Competition with films premiering every night and vying for the Palme D'Or.
Hi from Cannes Film Festival.
I've been here just one day and already the cool and crazy has hit me. It's my 7th Cannes and each time I am reminded of the strange mix of glamour, art and commerce that Cannes mixes effortlessly.
Cannes is of course first a world class festival. There's the main Competition with films premiering every night and vying for the Palme D'Or.
There's also Un Certain Regard sort of a spillover of films that aren't quite right for Competition. And there is Directors Fortnight and Critics Week as well as a short film strand as well. There are also special event screenings, such as this years Opening Night film Grace of Monaco with Nicole Kidman that is not competing and there's a whole program of retro and classic screenings.
However Cannes is also a market or marché, for the buying and selling of films, with a few thousand private screenings in the various cinemas in Cannes and at the Convention Centre or Palais. Sales agents entice distributors with their slate of films and it ain't about the art anymore - they could be selling car parts or toothpaste.
Producers also come to find finance or distribution for their projects so add that to the mix and you have the city's population swelling by thousands and thousands.
I got in to town yesterday. At the airport the taxi drivers were on strike (very French!) and everyone was queuing for the express busses. Once in Cannes I had dinner and crashed. Breakfast meeting at 8am tomorrow.