A French Lad in Cannes: Prologue

Or; how I was admitted into and prepared for the most prestigious film festival in the world.

Until 2018 the most prestigious cinema event in the world had been exclusively reserved for professionals. Since then the Cannes Film Festival has opened its doors to young commoners and let them attend with a new initiative called 3 Days in Cannes. To apply for a pass only two criteria need to be respected: be between 18 and 28 years old, and love cinema. When applying, you need to provide a cover letter in which you explain why you love cinema, and an ID card to prove you’re in the right age range. You also have to choose between two three-day sessions. Usually the first one starts on the second day of the festival, and the second one covers the final three days.

I’d heard of 3 Days in Cannes last year, applied and got accepted, which felt absolutely surreal. I’d always seen the festival on TV and was amazed by those red stairs, the Croisette, the Palme d’or, the stars and, most importantly, the fact that all the people I saw on TV were gathered because of their passion for films. Never had it crossed my mind I would ever be able to attend it. So I was quite shaken back to reality when the whole planet was struck by a global virus. I then felt it would be natural I would not go to Cannes. Why would I, after all? I was informed that everyone who got accepted into 3 Days in Cannes in 2020 would have their 2021 application reviewed first so as to be fair. I did not put too much hope into that, as we kept going from lockdown to curfew to lockdown 2.0 to curfew-lockdown hybrid all year round.

Fast-forward to 28 May 2021. As I was falling asleep I remember thinking to myself: ‘Is the Cannes Film Festival happening this year and if so, when?’ I checked on my phone and saw it was happening in July. I immediately told myself it would be the perfect opportunity for me to go. I don’t work in July or August so my job wouldn’t have been a hindrance. I applied the next day and two days later I once again received confirmation of my accreditation to the 2021 edition of the festival. Crazy, innit?

A friend of mine lives in Nice – near Cannes – so I checked with her if I could stay at her place. She was happy to let me – it also had been years since we had last seen each other so I was even more thrilled to go. I booked my train tickets and let June pass by, not looking into the planning of my stay at all. In early July I started getting into it. I was going there for the second session – 15 to 17 July, the last three days – but was getting there a day sooner to go and get my pass so I wouldn’t waste any precious time. This year, the festival went 100 % electronic and all screening bookings – entirely free, by the way – were done via the festival’s website. So I started booking those already available while waiting for new ones, which generally opened two or three days ahead of time, at 7 AM. Once booked, the ticket was yours. This worked for every screening, bar those at the Grand Théâtre Lumière, the massive room where the opening and closing ceremonies take place. For those you would apply for a ticket, which would then be selected at random.

A few days before my departure I received an email from the 3 Days in Cannes team letting me know that, exceptionally, due to high demand, the pass would be made available for the whole duration of the festival. I was more than excited to know I could possibly be staying longer but as I checked train tickets I realised it wouldn’t be possible. Either trains were full or the remaining tickets were unaffordable. Still it meant my pass would work from 14 July so I booked some screenings and applied for the red carpet premiere of Hungarian director Ildikó Enyedi’s The Story of My Wife, which I eventually got! It meant being in this huge room, in formal wear (tuxedo, bow tie and shoes – more on the shoes later) and witness the film’s cast (and crew, but you usually see the film’s cast and director). So I would see Léa Seydoux with my own eyes. That was until she tested positive for C*VID and was unable to attend the festival, also missing the premiere and press interviews for Wes Anderson’s star-studded The French Dispatch.

My unusually organised calendar, complete with start and end times of screenings, as well as their precise location.

At this point my phone’s calendar had never been that organised. I’d entered my train tickets – including the number of coach and seat –, the screenings I’d booked over those three and a half days, even if two or three clashed. This would help me see which I would have to cancel and what my options were. As I would go from Nice to Cannes by train, I’d written down the first and last train rides’ times in a separate note to avoid checking all the time on the Internet. I’d also made a checklist of every single item I was bringing, as well as a list of the screenings not yet available that I had my eye on. I mean, I was ruh-eady. Eager to leave I got to bed on 13 July, foolishly grinning in my sleep.

Nothing would have prepared me for what was in store for me a few hours later.