I was ecstatic when I found out I would be participating in this year's Penn-in-Cannes program in March. I had been interested in the program, which allows 30 Penn students to attend the Cannes Film Festival annually, since before my freshman year even began. However, the past two weeks I spent in the French Riviera blew even my wildest expectations out of the water.
If I could describe the experience in a word, it would be “addicting." During my last few days in Cannes, all I could think about was how excited I was to return again someday, maybe even next year, on my own. I went into the program looking forward to the red carpet premieres and the movie screenings, but Cannes offered much more beyond just film. It offered an inside look at the business of the film industry, with the marketplace attracting producers, distributors, buyers, sellers, and directors from all over the world. Conversations with other festival participants were never boring; the networking was only second to the movies themselves.
Of course, the movies were still the major highlight. I watched 30 movies throughout the duration of the festival, with over ten of them having been red carpet premieres. It's difficult to explain the process of obtaining “invitations," or tickets, for red carpet premieres; although I was able to attain invitations formally through the lottery system twice, most of the time the other participants and I would beg for them.
We, along with other festivalgoers, would literally beg outside the theater, holding up signs with “Une invitation, s'il vous plait" (“An invitation, please") scrawled on them. The process forced me to put my pride aside for the sake of being in the presence of some of my favorite actors and actresses, and ultimately, it was not too bad. Most of the time, I would be able to secure an invitation within about two hours of begging, maybe even within 20 minutes or so if it was a good (read: lucky) day. As the festival wore on, I began to prefer begging for red carpet premieres to waiting in line for alternate screenings, since with our badges it was necessary to get in line often more than two hours in advance. Even then, it was hard to say whether or not there would be enough space to accommodate us. So, in a twist of logic, it was easier to secure a seat in the theater through begging than waiting in line.
My favorite red carpet premiere was not for a movie in competition, but for the closing ceremony on the last day of the festival (and my last night in Cannes). Sitting in the theater as the awards were presented, I felt like I was at the Oscars or any other awards show that I had only seen from a TV screen in years past. It felt unreal to be there, in the flesh, as the Palm D'Or was handed over to French director Jacques Audiard, who happens to be one of my favorite directors, for his movie Dheepan.
When I went to see The Avengers: Age of Ultron at a movie theater near my house in suburban D.C. the other day, it felt odd that I did not have to show up in a dress and heels. There really is nothing else like Cannes, and 2016 can't come soon enough.
