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60e Festival de Cannes - May 2007

Do the Cannes Cannes

I wasnít planning to go, but things kept falling into place and next thing I knew Iíd bought my Easyjet ticket to the Riviera for the 60th International Cannes Film Festival. I started chatting to wonderful film people at the check in counter and my last movie business conversation didnít stop until I came out of immigration back in the UK, 8 days later. Talk about intense.

Luckily, my friends in the region hooked me up with accommodation away from the madness so I was staying with the lovely Belin family at their villa in Mougins (a 15 minute drive away). This meant that although I wasnít dragging my arse into town until lunch time, and spent more than a few hours bumping into old and new friends, I still managed to cover quite a bit of ground before leaving around midnight most days.

Big shout out to Geraldine at the British Council who patiently let me take numerous hours to painstakingly copy out the details of everyone in Cannes I would ever want to meet ñ I ended up knocking on most of their doors. Iíd been to the festival a few times as a voyeur, but this was my first time as an accredited filmmaker, and Iím not kidding when I say it was a different world. The thing that struck me most was the sudden access - the confidence that little gold, black and white badge gave you as you stepped up to the Majestic Hotel suite of Sony Pictures and requested a meeting with one of their buyers. Or in the case of Shoreline Entertainment, just went straight in and settled on a plush sofa amidst the cigar smoke as two execs explained the economics of selling your particular film globally, in between critiquing the angle of the light as it falls on the butt cheeks of your two male leads.

Many people turned me away and many people wanted to know more. The fact that ëChanging Facesí, the other film I produced (starring our very own Rachael Young), is supposed to be premiering at the Toronto Film festival, didnít do Rag Tag any harm. As is tradition, one doesnít talk about these things until such a day (if it comes) as the ink is dry so we shall see, we shall see.

Other highlights of the festival included partying with some random execs and yacht sellers at the Carlton Hotel until way past the break of dawn; getting up close and personal with Entourageís Adrian Grenier; being pushed along by the scram to get within a foot of the Oceanís 13 cast (apparently both George and Brad dyed their hair, but still looked lovely); did I mention dreamy Adrian Grenier already; watching the newly revamped Cruising with Quentin Tarantino; and of course being one of the people hot stepping my way up the glamourous red carpet for a competition screening of the new Marky Mark and Joaquim Pheonix flick ëWe Own The Nightí. Ok movie, awesome evening.

So happy I went to Cannes. Definitely going again.

Adaora x