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The Exclusivity of Cannes

I found an informative web site for those wondering how in the world to get into the Cannes Film Festival.

Here's an overview of your options to recieve accredidation:

• Industry professionals (thought I'd get the obvious out of the way)
• submit a short film to the short film corner
• get market accredidation (need to work for a company that is in the film industry or serves it)
• Intern (how I got my accredidation last year- through The American Pavilion.)

Interning for AMPAV was best since it was my first time at the festival. Keep in mind you have to work six hours a day, but you have people around you who are seasoned festival goers. Plus it was great having knowledgeable mentors in a place that is extremely overwhelming for the first time.

They really do a great job of keeping it a place for film industry professionals. They aren't going to let just anyone in. That's the great thing about Cannes. You never know who you may be talking to. Opportunity is around every corner...if not right in front of you.

Don't Forget Inglourious is Bloody

Apparently it's not too early to keep your ears open to films that will be shown at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. Already there are reports that a film by Iranian director, Abbas Kiarostami, will be shown at next year's festival.

The film, Certified Copy, was shot in Tuscany; so I have an inkling the cinematography will have something to offer. It stars French actress Juliette Binoche of Chocolat, Bee Season, and Dan in Real Life- to name a few.

Kiarostami is no newbie to the festival. In 1997 he won the Golden Palm award for his film Ta'm e guilass, and was nominated two other years for the award.

In other somewhat unrelated news:
A friend and I went to see Inglourious Basterds last week. I saw it at the festival, and loved it. But I had somehow forgotten how bloody it is. She's not very fond of blood... Woops.

It's Not Over!

So I've been thinking...and I don't want to stop my blog just because I went to Cannes once. I want to go again!

I am going to be working on a short film in my final semester of undergrad. And I am going to submit it to the Cannes short corner so I can go back for Cannes 2010.

In the meantime I will update on everything I find out about Cannes 2010, and any newsworthy info on the Cannes Film Festival past and present.


Keep checking back! I'll also update on how the making of the short goes.

Post Cannes 2009

Cannes was a success. I learned more than I could have ever imagined, saw some amazing movies, made some great contacts, and we'll see where I go from here. The possibilities really are endless!


I have a new blog now: Everything I've Never Done. Check it out! Should be entertaining!

Short & Sweet

I joined the 21st century and bought a digital camera so I can document my experience at Cannes. Only six more days until I arrive there. Expect pictures the last week of May!

Wanna buy my Screenplay?

I have a script to pitch when I am at the festival. I'll have no idea what I am doing, but what better way to learn than by trying. I know it's a cut throat industry, and I'm not one of those people that lives with their head in the clouds. But I'm also an optimist.

My best friend and I wrote this script beginning in August of 2007. We completed it in two months...extremely quickly. Basically I was staying up all night writing and then I would be thinking about it all day while I was working at my job at the time. I loathed that job so having that script to focus on really got me through some difficult days.

Then a cool thing happend. One day in June when we were really hoping for a lead someway, somehow, fate stepped in when my gregarious best friend began talking with a lady. Lo and behold the lady revealed that she is a writer/producer and about to start filming something in Saint Augustine.

So she read our script. She liked it. We met with her. She gave us tips on improving it. (She sat down with us and went throught it with us page by page! She is amazing.) Told us she had a director in mind, but it depended on the director's schedule.

That was last summer. My best friend and I didn't hear from her after our last meeting in July. We assume it is because the director she had in mind is a producer of One Tree Hill, and it got picked up for another season (when she thought it may be the show's last year). And we never inquired anymore about it because our screenplay is based on true events, and we were still somewhat amongst the plotline of the story...things happend in August and the months following that didn't leave us in a place where we were ready to delve into any project regarding it. We were still growing and changing from the exact plotline our story is based on (talk about art imitating life).

But now, I am going to Cannes. And the plotline for the screenplay has become a part of our past. The timing is beautiful. So I am going to hand it off to every industry professional I can. I'm definitely nervous. I won't have any clue as to what I am doing. But I am hoping that somehow my naivety will help me out.

If anyone has any tips at all please share them with me. I believe in this screenplay more than anything, and I know it needs to be made into a film. It's something that every girl from the age of 16-22 should see. It's about heartbreak, and the different forms of it we are faced with depending on what life pitches us. More importantly it's about surviving it, and coming out a stronger person as a result of it.

It's not like any other, but just to give you a grasp on the overall feel I compare it to Garden State and Little Miss Sunshine (not plot, but feel.)

Another plus, it can be made on an extremely low budget. I'll make it myself if I have to (and would love to) But...I need a $$producer$$ and a crew!

5 more weeks...

Female Jury President

Isabelle Huppert is this year's film festival jury president. This marks only the fourth female to be appointed jury president out of the 62 years of the festival. Huppert has won two best actress awards from Cannes in the past (most recently for The Piano in 2001). I say, Go girl! But she is French, so peut-etre...Allez-vous fille! (My French is pretty rusty.)

Heath Ledger's Final Film

There is buzz that Heath Ledger's last film will premiere at the festival.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus was midway through filming when Ledger passed away. Johnny Dep, Colin Farrell and Jude Law then stepped in to finish his role.

There is no distributor for the film yet, giving more reason for it to premiere at the festival. We'll know for sure April 23rd when the official films are announced!

Click here for a great article on prospective entrants.

Quentin Tarantino and Brad Pitt

Recent Cannes Announcement!

Quentin Tarantino will be debuting his film starring Brad Pitt titled Inglourious Basterds at the festival.

Tarantino already won a Palm D'Or award in 1994 for none other than Pulp Fiction. Perhaps another award has his name on it? We'll know soon enough.

I will be surprised if he doesn't win an award this year. Apparently he has been working on this script for almost a decade.

Brad Pitt plays a southern lieutenant redneck who forms a squad to kill the German nazis. The film is said to contain gruesome violence (but you should expect that if you know Tarantino at all.)

The official line-up for the Cannes Film Festival will be revealed on April 23...so be sure to check back for the official line-up. There is lots of talk that this is going to be an exciting year for the festival!

I found a useful website that lists the Cannes Film Festival Winners beginning all the way back in 1946.

Fun fact:
Francis Ford Coppola was awarded the Palme d'Or in 1974 for his film The Conversation.

To see other winners, click on the specific year:
2007
2001
1997
1991 (The Coen brothers won this year.)

Only 8 More Weeks

Going to the Cannes Film Festival?
Whether you are attending the festival itself, or just want to be in Cannes during all the excitement, here are some great links for finding hotel accomodations:

http://www.cannes-accommodation.com/en-US/Locations.aspx
http://www.azur-online.com/content/france/cannes/congresses/cannes-film-festival.php

In other Cannes news, "Up", a new animation from Disney Pixar will be the opening ceremony film. It is the first movie to premiere at the festival in 3-D. What a great way to start things off!

"Up" will not be released in the United States until May 29th. I hope I get to see the premiere when I'm there!

Cannes Films Recently Released

24 City was released in France on Wednesday (March 18). It was chosen in the official selection at last year's festival. The film borderlines the genres of documentary and fiction.

Another film from last year's festival was also released yesterday. The Chaser follows the character of a former cop turned pimp.

Also, The Class was released last month. It was the first French film to earn a Palm D'Or in over 20 years. Laurent Cantent, director, filmed The Class in HD, which he gives credit to for creating a real feeling.

Along with the Cannes Golden Palm Award, Cantent also earned an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film...Cannes awards and Oscars seem to go hand in hand (see previous posts).

Clint Eastwood Awarded Palme d'Or

Yesterday Clint Eastwood was awarded the lifetime achievement award, the Palm d'Or, by Cannes Film Festival President Gilles Jacob. Only the second time for the award to be given, it is quite an honor. The first award went to Ingmar Bergman in 1997.

"France is the first country to approach and appreciate cinema as an art form," said Eastwood.

In case you aren't quite sure of all that Eastwood has worked on, here are a few of his films you have probably, at the very least, heard of:

Eastwood directed all the previous films, but that barely scratches the surface. For the complete list go to imdb.com.

When I was a little girl I remember watching Clint Eastwood with my dad in the plethora of Westerns he starred in. My how he has evolved!

Movie to Debut at Cannes

One of the movies to be premiered at the Cannes Film Festival was announced a couple of weeks ago. Brand Pele, an acclaimed soccer star in Brazil, is the subject of this particular animated movie. Cannes will be giving him a red-carpet entrance and Pele will be auctioning off some football ( or soccer if you are native to the US) memoribilia.

The movie budget is said to be $63 million. I would venture to say, if you have not heard of Pele (as I had not) then you will most likely have the opportunity to become acquainted with his life story in a few months, assuming the movie is picked up for distribution at the festival.

You can go to Cannes too!

If you are interested in interning for the Cannes Film Festival it's not too late! AMPAV, the corporation that provides internships, has extended the deadline for applications (until February 27). If you have any inclination to do this, don't hesitate. Especially if you are a Flagler student. I say that because the head of AMPAV really likes Flagler and you are very likely to be approved.

If you are interested, the picture to the right is a link to AMPAV.com. This May there are currently four students from Flagler attending. It'd be great to add to that number!

Penn Forgets the Wife

Jury President of The Cannes Film Festival, Sean Penn, won last night for Best Actor in Milk. Unfortunately he failed to thank his wife for her support...notice her tears of joy for him while he recieves his award. Hmmm, perhaps he's sleeping on the couch tonight?

The Oscars and Cannes

What's the correlation? Besides both being events packed with A-list celebrities and tons of talent, they both represent some of the same films. Last May Cannes showcased movies that could go home tonight with an Oscar, literally at any minute (I'm watching the Oscars as I write this).

The Changeling, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Angelina Jolie, is nominated for three Oscars including Best Actress. In fact...oh... as I'm watching the film just lost (for Art direction to Benjamin Button.) Well, two more to go! Point being, at the Cannes Film Festival last May The Changeling was chosen as an official selection.

Some others films seen in both the film festival and Oscar ceremony include The Class and Waltz with Bachir competing against each other, among a few others, for best foreign film. Also, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, another Cannes film, won a mere minutes ago in the category for Best Supporting Actress to Penelope Cruz.

Also, this year's President of the Jury at the Cannes film festival is Sean Penn...perhaps you've heard of him? He is also nominated tonight for best actor in the film Milk.

The film industry is extremely interconnected, so pay attention to the Cannes Film Festival awards this May because chances are those films will reappear at next year's Academy Award Ceremony!

Overview of Cannes

Some facts about the Cannes Film Festival:

*It has taken place since 1946.
* The Golden Palm is the official mark of the festival.
*In case you cannot tell from the name, it does in fact, take place in Cannes, France.
*It attracts aprox. 4,000 journalists each year.