Cannes Film Festival 2017

After skipping Cannes in 2016 in favour of the chillier delights of Berlinale, I was so excited to be back on the Croisette. The beautiful weather, sparkling blue ocean and glamorous milieu are an enduring joy for me, no matter how busy my Marché schedule. Nevertheless, attending as a horror film festival programmer, there were many violent and dark films to be watched amidst the glitz. The aim of the game, as always, was to bag some gems to screen at Celluloid Screams, and no amount of Jake Gyllenhaal or delicious pizza was going to change that.

As with last year, dinner on our arrival night was a tasty, hearty and relaxed 4 course meal at La Brouette de Grand Mère, enjoyed in the excellent company of the genre festival crowd. A great chance to catch up with old friends and make new ones. I was thrilled to discover that the gravlax (served with a shot of iced vodka) was still on the set menu, and the terrine was just as divine as I remembered it to be. The perfect start to the festival.

Screenings wise, it was a packed week with some strong contenders. You'll have to keep an eye on our programme announcement later in the year to see what we end up with, but I'm already very excited about the possibilities. I didn't see many films outside of the Marché, but I did go to the Cinéma de la Plage this year to watch one of my favourite films: All About My Mother, by Pedro Almodóvar, who came onto the beach to introduce it. There were no English subtitles (the film is Spanish), but my experience watching it was no different. I know the film by heart, but dialogue is only a small part of it; the screening made me realise the significance of other elements, such as the music and mise en scène, in the connection I feel with the sum of its parts.

The Fantastic Fanatics Mixer party is always a highlight for me, and this year was no exception. It's designed to bring together directors, sales companies, buyers & festival programmers of the genre industry. I met some really lovely people. Events took an interesting turn after the party, when, in an advanced state of refreshment, our group took off in the direction of an unknown hotel in search of an Iron Sky party we'd heard about. After a bit of stumbling around, we found ourselves in a sizeable hotel suite (or, the 'Iron Sky Lounge'). The event, held in association with the Finnish Film Foundation, was designed to generate some buzz around the next release in the Iron Sky Universe. The atmosphere was fantastic, aided in no small part by free booze aplenty.

Our last day looked set to be pretty uneventful, with a hint of a hangover from the karaoke party the previous night. But as it turns out, we were lucky to be among the few who saw the past & present jury members leaving the Palais following their 70th anniversary photo shoot, including Uma Thurman, Will Smith and Guillermo del Toro to name a few. I do enjoy a bit of celebrity spotting, so it was a great end to the festival. Unfortunately though, as with last year, I didn't manage to see Jake Gyllenhaal. You can't have everything, and I hope one day he can understand that.