We Cannes Do That!
Posted by Fetch Tue, 30 May 2006 16:46:00 GMT
Arriving at the Cannes Film Festival induces sensory overload. There are people everywhere and they all have a mission: to meet as many people as possible and to see the hottest thing.
This time around attending the festival was very different for me. The first time I went to Cannes was in 1999, and I worked as an intern with the American Pavilion. If you’ve never heard of The American Pavilion, you can think of it like the Olympic Village. It’s a place to check your email, eat american food and converse in english. It’s a small taste of home. In 1999, I was a receptionist, and I was able to get a first hand look at the workings of the festival. It allowed the magnitude of the fest to come down to size, and I decided that I would return to Cannes with a film of my own.
This year I had the opportunity to attend with our film What are the Odds? We were selected to be part of the Short Film Corner, a sidebar at the festival. Started in 2004, The Short Film Corner is a continuous showing of the best that international short films have to offer. You log into a computer and you are allowed to watch which ever short you would like to see throughout the entire day. As we found upon our arrival, people can sit at these stations for hours on end. Some days we had to wait interminably to gain access. We got great feedback on our film. As usual, it stood out against the other dark and intense shorts. Seems that most people making shorts these days like to include sex, violence and drug use.
One of the best parts of the festival was being able to attend with my director, Matthew Tritt. Due to his schedule, he wasn’t able to attend the pervious festivals that have screened What are the Odds? I guess if you’re going to attend any one film festival, Cannes is the one to experience.
