For the first time I’m going to share with you all how I follow Cannes fest. I’m doing it so perhaps some of you will join me for a few days and could ‘party’ together.
Everything starts at the Official Site where info will be pouring slowly, so you have to be patient for them to upload everything. As patience is not my virtue I always watch on TV the opening but this year I wont be able as now I live in a country where the satellite provider unannouncedly stopped TV5 Monde transmission. So I’m hoping that Canal+ uploads the opening ceremony faster than the official site and maybe (wish me success) I’ll find a site that broadcasts TV5 Monde online and viola, will watch it live. Yes, have several sites ready, but I wont know if they work until the show is broadcasted, so if you wish to watch it live check this site as surely I’ll post the link.
What follows comes from different sources. Some Press calls and conferences are really fun-to-watch, last year had a blast watching Almodovar, let’s hope that this year we find some amusing ones. This kind of videos come only from the official site, they’re the best and if you have bandwith strongly recommend to watch them in high definitition. Also Canal+, as an official partner, loads tons of videos but most are not really interesting, so what I don’t miss is Zapping Cannois that gives me a glimpse of everything that happens and if I’m interested in something in particular just browse the site to find the video with all the information.
The best place to find excellent information and videos is arte.tv that’s definitively more selective in what they upload to their site plus their interviews are less gossipy and more cinema interesting.
Then comes the reading from people that actually are in Cannes. Unfortunately this year my favorite net writer won’t be in Cannes and I surely will miss his peculiar writing, still he’ll be covering the fest from the same side of the world I am. Luckily I have another writer that I like to follow exclusively for Cannes coverage as his ‘darkish’ humor absolutely is my kind of humor; love Peter Bradshaw from British newspaper the Guardian. He’s already in Cannes and today’s article is just great reading for Cannes movies that never crossed the English channel and (some) much less the big ocean. Fortunately many are or will be available in DVD which up-to-today is the most greatest (and cheapest) cinema invention ever (for me).
I avoid reading Cannes films reviews, but if I’m really curious about an especific film surely I’ll read (some) of what Todd McCarthy writes if he saw that movie. Yes I check gossipy news too. The most serious writer is Anne Thompson that since she went to indiewire she’s a lot more free to write lighter articles, but the drawback about these two ex-Variety writers is that many times what they write has a very American pov against a more international one. Speaking of Variety, they’re promoting new writers and if their site allows me to read more articles than 3 a month, surely I’ll check them.
For true gossip I read Paris Match (lol!), Premiere (France), and use google latest news search in French (avoid English or you’ll get mostly annoying American news). Here is where I learn stuff like what in the world is Aish doing in Cannes this year? (LOL!) plus stuff about thousands of films that didn’t got into any Selection but are being promoted in Cannes marche, the biggest in the world.
Surely I’m forgetting something, but this gives you an idea of how I’ll spend the following days until May 23 when the festival closes. Afterwards I close the book until next year and the greatest party of the year is over for me. Sadly the wait starts until I’m able to watch whatever films ‘I have to’ watch, a wait that sometimes takes up to 2 years (if not more).
Always say that I have to go to Cannes and always hope for ‘next year’. Hope never dies and well let’s hope that next year I’ll be writing live from Cannes.
Cheers!!!