Cannes week 1

My internship for Rogers & Cowan = Working The "Moomins" Premiere/Pre-party on a yacht.

"Robin Hood" premiere...

Wow has it really been a week since I've been in Cannes? My last entry was barely about my first day... a lot has happened since then, but I've been busy/lazy to update. I'm trying my best to keep up with this blog as best I can, but with an internship, some very late nights, and an entire festival to explore; it's been proving to be a challenge.

I just updated my facebook album to show some photos of what I've seen so far.

And so far it has been pretty awesome. But I'll admit with my internship it's a little hard to really enjoy/take advantage of the festival, but that's what I'm really here for.

This is the gist of what's going on in Cannes...

INTERNSHIP

I intern with a PR firm named Rogers & Cowan based in NY and LA and London, etc. At the festival, they've been promoting a 3D animated film called "Moomins." Apparently it was a huge kids show popular in Finland, Sweden, UK and parts of Asia. They made a feature film of the story that premiered in Cannes. The premiere was actually just last night, so I'm currently in the middle of the campaign. Most of the days so far have dealt with pre-planning, but now that it's game-time it's been busy. Yesterday they had a premiere party on a yacht docked near the festival. Shortly after was the actually premiere. I actually fell asleep through half of it... so that should tell you a little bit about it.

My next entry will have a little more detail on the "Moomin" experience.

FESTIVAL

So far I've mainly just walked around. They show about 60 films a day in several theaters around the festival. The main hall is the Palais where the "Grand Lumiere Theatre" aka red carpet premieres, take place. They have about 7 small theatres inside. The Palais is the main hub for all the main events. This is also where the short corner is located, along with accreditation and ticket pick up.

They also have the "International Pavillion" where all the countries have booths for their films. Of course only the "American Pavillion" requires special membership beyond a badge when no other country has that (way to go Americans).

They also have several outside theatres that show more indie films, including a free-to-the public screening on the beach.

By the way all movies are free for badge holders, you can't even get in the Palais without one... very tight security with metal detectors.

So far I've seen a total of three movies. The first one was on day 1 with the Robin Hood premiere. The crowds were insane. I don't usually see red carpet stuff live, even though I live really close to Hollywood (I avoid that place like the plague) so this was a bit new for me. So many paparazzi and tourist. People dressed up in tuxedos and dresses holding up signs "tickets for Robin Hood S'il vous plait," trying to get their 15 mins of fame on the red carpet.

Being a pass holder I had the opportunity to get tickets if I signed up and had points, which I did, but I was put in a lottery and unfortunately didn't get it. However, I had a back up to watch the screening that took place directly after. For any screenings in the Grand Lumiere after 7pm, you must wear formal attire, hence why I'm all dressed up to watch Robin Hood (of all things!). What didn't help the situation is that it started pouring rain. We arrived really early, so we basically stood in the rain for an hour before they let us in. Since we couldn't get out of line, it was excruciating... we were all dressed up and getting drenched... so not fun. Once we got in, the jet lag started to hit me again so I fell asleep during half the film. Overall the experience was cool... but not worth the freezing cold and drenching rain... not to mention the aching feet with heels on.

Today I got to see my first indie/foreign film! You have no idea what a big deal this is to me... I've been wanting to see so many films but I either wake up too late or my internship eats up my time. This is the first film I actually wanted to see, so this was quite a feat for me. It was called "Sweet Little Lies," a Japanese film.

FREE TIME

Most of my free time has been going to this blog! Amazingly it takes up a good chunk of time, uploading photos, writing and formatting; not to mention a slow internet connection.

I haven't really been able to go out and party much. They have lavish parties almost every night and some don't even require invitation. But I've been sleepy a lot lately... I've been staying home and writing while my roommate has been out partying every night... hummm does this mean I'm officially old?

I promise I will go out and party soon... tonight? tomorrow? who knows... you'll just have to stay tuned...