As most of you know, at this moment one of the biggest film
festivals in the world is going on here in Cannes. At the moment I’m at my
internship with some free time so I thought I’d share some hopefully
semi-coherent thoughts on everything that’s been going on.
So… what’s it like?
I’m sure if you Google image search it you’ll see all the
photos of the celebrities and the red carpet and all of that jazz. There’s
that. But honestly I haven’t seen much of that because there’s so much more
going on in the festival than just the screenings and the red carpets. Pretty
much every theatre screen in the entire city is being used every hour to screen
something. In an attempt to describe the festival—there’s a bunch of different
categories. There’s the official selection of the films that are in the running
for the prestigious Palme d’Or and other awards. There’s also Un Certain Regard
which are movies that didn’t quite make the cut for the Official Selection but
that were noteworthy enough to be recognized. There’s also the Quinzaine de Directeurs and la Semaine de la Critique and
so on. There’s even a big screen on the beach that I can see from the
terrace of Myriad Pictures where they screen classics every night.
But outside of the films themselves there’s the market—the business
side of the festival. This is where I’ve been. Every day I walk into town (the
busses have been completely unreliable—were on strike for the first few days
naturally ‘cause it’s France, and now are completely off the schedule) and go
to Myriad’s office which is on the 4th floor of a building right
across from the famous La Croisette and the beach. We’re a few blocks before
the Carlton. I’ve really enjoyed my internship. I didn’t know what to expect
but it’s pretty simple task-wise. I pick up the “trades” or daily magazines on
my way (I pick them up in the lobby of the Majestic Hotel which is decorated
like the Hunger Games at the entrance), I get everyone’s lunch, I sometimes
answer the phone, I get buyers drinks while they wait for their meetings with
one of our three salespeople, etc. I definitely have learned a lot about a side
of the industry I’d never given much thought to. What Myriad is is an international
distributor. So, they buy all of the rights to films in the U.S. and comes to
these festivals to meet with people from all other territories to sell them the
rights to distribute the movies in their own countries. Pretty interesting!
Then, however, comes the general chaos of the festival. The
streets are literally filled to the brim. I can’t walk down Rue d’Antibes to
run errands—something that is probably one of my biggest pet peeves. I can’t
deal with people that take up the entire sidewalk and walk super slow, or
people that walk slow and zig zag so that between them and oncoming walkers I
cannot pass, or people that text and do the previously mentioned zig zag move…
but that’s my rant. Basically, there’s people everywhere. On the beach. In all
of the cafés and restaurants. In every hotel. On the biggest yachts I’ve ever
seen sitting out on the harbor.
The glitz and glamour and chicness of Cannes has definitely revealed itself. Something that I’ve gotten to enjoy the perks of a bit as
an intern. I’ve gotten to go out to lunches and dinners with everything paid
for by the company. Got to go to a private villa party we threw. I’ve been
meeting all sorts of business people and making small talk. I find it fun to
observe and to even be a part of it a bit, but man, it is a lifestyle that I’m
not sure I could do.
So on that note however, I have to add: I’m absolutely
exhausted. As someone who likes to have a SOLID 6-8 or 9 hours of sleep a
night, my average has been anywhere from 3-5 hours of sleep a night. I work
about a 12 hour day just at the office (not including the 30 minute walk there/back
to the college). Plus multiple days have ended with going out to dinner or
going out on the terrace. There’s only been one night in fact since it all
started that I haven’t been out I’m pretty sure. So basically I’ve been going,
going, going non-stop. Which I fully expected going into it. I was sort of
mentally prepared. But it’s catching up with me.
I have, however, had some really great nights and good
memories. I got to go to some private parties. Some beach clubs (one with this
great dock you can walk out on). I’ve seen a few movies Myriad owns as well as
went and saw “La Chambre Bleu” which is from the Un Certain Regard Category.
On the maybe more negative side, however, it’s been very
weird to not see all of the AIFS group and my class and everyone at the college
every day. So that’s been a bit of a bummer. And also maybe not a bad thing to…
(pause but a guy just came in and told me I’m typing too fast for this nice
weather haha)… anyways it may not be a bad thing to have happen before we all
leave.
Which is… a week and
a half away. So… that hasn’t hit me yet. And it’s been awesome to have so many
people here but it’s been a bit bittersweet in that sense because we’ve all
been so spread out and barely have gotten to see and enjoy the festival
together. But yeah… I was walking around today and it is gorgeous outside and I
was looking around and just thinking I only have that long left here in Cannes…
I only have a week and a half left to be living in the south of France. To know
this town like the back of my hand. To constantly see people in cafés. To see
these people who I’ve been literally waking up, eating meals, going to class,
going out, and spending every minute with for 3 and half months.
So, it’s a weird time. An exciting time, with a lot going on
and a lot to look forward too. I might try to walk to the red carpet on Friday
(an entirely other complicated/confusing thing). We’ve also got the amfAR gala
on Thursday night which we’re volunteering at so I’ll see some celebrities
then. And I’ve still got a few weeks of travel after the semester ends. But
really writing this and thinking about it now I just felt my heart drop a bit
because… well I can’t really put it into words. And I don’t think I really have
to I’m sure you guys can imagine… But then it’ll be meeting my mom and sister
in Costa Rica and then I’ll be… home. Well, sort of.
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