Cannes Cannes

A beautiful morning in Juan Les Pins, which means "city of small, yappy dogs" in French. Actually, it refers to the pine trees that stud the hills leading up from the coast, but that doesn't change the fact that there are quite a few noisy little chien. A short, windy bus ride into Cannes and the madness begins. Apparently black is still the new black, so my khakis and blue oxford were decidedly gauche. Some broken French and frantic gesticulations and I found the accreditation office where I received my badge...priceless to have here. You don't get anywhere without a badge, because aside from the paparazzi fueled red carpet glitz, Cannes is a giant tradeshow.

I spent a good hour wandering around, tenatively poking my head into this hall and that. I kept waiting for someone to yell, "Hey, you don't belong here! Beat it to the other side of the fences with the rest of the tourists!" I finally settled down at the Short Film Corner; the section that is hosting our film, "Conversion".

The Short Film Corner is an interesting microcosm of people. Apparently, if you make a short film, it gives you license to wear riduculous hats. When did tiny brimmed fedoras come into fashion? Is Ska making a big comeback? Flip Video, the portable video camera people were giving away HD Flip cams to anyone that pitched a movie they could make while in Cannes. I talked to one such recipient...he got the camera and has no intention of actually making a film. Hmmm. Probably the last year Flip will be doing that! The walls in the SFC look like a campus center during rush week. Hundreds of flyers and postcards of films tacked to the walls. Filmakers hoping to find a buyer for their movies.

Which leads back to the whole tradeshow thing. It is amazing the giant machine that film and entertainment is. Film bureaus from all over the world either want to sell you a film, or want you to come make a film in their countries. The booths from Southeast Asia are the most interesting. Who knew how pasionate that end of the world is about schlocky horror movies! I was neither in position to purchase the rights to an Indonesian story about goblins, nor was I looking to travel there to film my tropical version of Last Hut on the Left. Anyway, it was time to go upstairs in the Palais to meet other 48 Hour Filmakers.

I waited at the entrance of the theater for Lucas Krost, Richmond, VA based director, whose film, "Outliers" was screening alongside our entry. Lucas came in tow with a handful of other 48 Hour folks and we all got to know each other. Some starry eyed film students asked us if they could take their pictures with us, and even though we were tired of being hassled by the paparazzi, we wanted to encourage the kids, so we allowed it. Then into the theater, which was small, but had the plushest seats I've ever been in!

As the films rolled, it was apparent that this was the best of the 48 Hour Film Project. There were some amazing short films, shot with the precision and style befitting a full scale Hollywood production. Keep in mind, that these were all conceived and produced over the course of one weekend! It was a thrill to be included in the same program as these mini works of art.

After the program, we pushed past the the line waiting to see the world premiere of "Mad Cow-Boy Meats Girl" and into the sun drenched Croisette. Outside it was a larger version of the tradeshow, with film companies and more countries hosting screenings inside portable, air conditioned "offices". Tourists and school groups crowded the barriers, looking to see if anyone was anyone. Funny, we were doing the same thing...

As the afternoon wore on, the area near the red carpet and red stairs to the Grand Lumiere theater started to get busy. Photographers and video crews claimed their spots. Hopeful starseekers vied for a position along the barriers. The best spot for star sighting was the road along the Croisette. Police cleared space on the street for guests, actors and filmakers to make their way on foot from the Carlton Hotel. It was a strange, yet grand parade of sorts. Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu, the director of "Amores Perros", was premiering his film, "Biutiful", a heartbreaking story starring Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men) and Bianca Portillo (Volver). If I hadn't forgotten my USB card reader, I'd have some great photos of the cast to post. I'll look for one tomorrow!

Finally, our little group was approached by a frantic woman who had no credentials, but plenty of tickets, who spoke only English, no French. Seeing as this was our specialty, too, we gamely pitched in to help. In exchange for helping her navigate security, she gave us all of her extra tickets! Alas, none of us had returned to our respective hotels to don our required tuxedos, so we watched her head up the red carpet without us. We'll know next time...