Cannes: The Film Students Guide

Luke Leslie May 27th 2007

Dave Lester Mooney and Luke Leslie of Buckled Cranium Productions just got home, and I'm keen to digi-pen something about the last week while the experience bounces around inside my brain. First big question I suppose is: Was our a trip a success?

Yes, in so much as two young second year film students made quite an eventful 6 day trip to the Cannes film festival, on a poorly realized itinerary dreamed up an embarrassing 2 weeks previous.

No, in that we didn't land a "Deal" we didn't meet Mr. Big, and mostly we just walked past a lot of people who looked like they are in a very, very different world to us.

Or... they look exactly like me and dave, which means they aren't anything but fat tourists, or, they're sooo scruffy, they're the top top brass of the event, I'm talking Bob Geldof scruffy, for example I saw what could only be described as a homeless version of Santa being ushered into the main Palais, when they wouldn't even serve Dave a drink in the Grande hotel, just because we came in shorts....

But don't think we couldn't look "Money" when we needed to, we came back the next day in our linen suits, and cheap aftershave and got served drinks in the very same bar, all night... but thats another story...

My main advice for anyone reading this looking for some kind of insight to Cannes is as follows.

1. Plan your shit out, tickets can be booked, ques can be avoided.

2. Accreditation is Free if you book in April, that gets you behind the barriers that "ordinary" or what I prefer to call "real" people can't get behind. The International Village is a busy place in the first week, but dies out by monday of the 2nd week, what remains is the pavilion for each country, the Irish Pavilion has free internet access and water which is nice, but Neil Jordan, Liam Neeson and their american friends don't hang there too much

3. Go with a crowd, the more attention you draw to yourselves the more likely you are to meet people, just be slick and know what kind of image you want to give off, in order to attract the right kind of attention, Cannes is the most image conscious place I've ever been to, Topping LA and Paris by several light-years.

4. Hook up with people there, the biggest contact we met was an LA directors Agent. He only approached us because we were, sitting with the Parents of Davids friend, who look the part, having worked in media, and also hearing the Irish Accents, he himself originally being Irish.

5. Read the fliers, read the mags, lots of stuff is more accessible then you think, Exclusiveness is the currency there, but plenty of bars and clubs want to lure the A listers under the guise of being Cannes most Exclusive newest club, whilst at the same time they're offering Free nightly membership from the Variety stand outside the Grande Hotel, contradiction? No they just want to fill their spaces!

6. If you expect to just bump into George Lucas and pitch starwars episodes 7-9, don't get your hopes up, they are on a whole different orbit to the people walking in the streets. Rather, plan for a good time - for you, and keep your business cards handy for if your lucky to brush shoulders with useful people in clubs, bars and restaurants.

7. Get your money together now, Cannes is as expensive you'd expect, but not much more then Dalkey expensive, prices can vary hugely, you can expect to pay 50 euro for a round of scotch in the Grande, and 12 in Morrisons Irish Bar just 2 minutes walk away.

8. Stay in the middle of town, Cannes is very walkable, Cars are more for driving up to red carpet events then for actually getting around, so my advice is stay somewhere in the middle of town and everywhere is no more then 10 minutes away.

9. Lastly, you'll see famous, people, but trust me, they'll just walk past bathed in a torrent of inaudible names shouted by Paparazzi, cameras flashes and artificial smiles, simply serving to remind you how very different a world they live in to you or I.

And thats all you need to know, the rest will fall into your lap as your expertly planned excursion unfolds, or will punch you starkly in the face as the ominous realization dawns on you that you have shit all planned and are arsing about with your classmate at the most high-profile, largest and most world renowned Film Festival on Earth!

To all you filmmakers be sure to check out

http://www.cannes24filmchallenge.com/

Stupidly we missed the opportunity to take part this year, but went along to the afterparty anyway, I can say with confidence that next year I plan to wipe the floor of the competition, and pick up the tidy prize of a guaranteed screening in the shorts film corner of the official Cannes Film Festival the year following.

It was a blast, I will be back. That is all...

All the men look like this:

All the women look like this:

we've been online since 17th Jan 2006

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