This paper is a ten-day personal journal written by a film student attending the 64th Cannes Film Festival in May 2011. It chronicles opening-ceremony highlights — including the honorary Palme d'Or presented to Bernardo Bertolucci and the banning of Lars Von Trier — alongside screenings of competition and short films from Korea, Japan, Latin America, Canada, and Norway. The journal also documents industry presentations by executives from CAA, Caribbean Cinemas, and ICM, reflecting on the business and financial dimensions of filmmaking. Personal observations about the city of Cannes and candid encounters with figures such as Peter Fonda round out a multifaceted account of one of cinema's most prestigious annual events.
The 64th annual Cannes Film Festival got underway on Wednesday, 11 May 2011. The festivities were held over twelve days, concluding on Sunday, 22 May 2011. Like all previous editions of the festival, this year marked a distinctive one — legendary American film icon Robert De Niro headed the panel of jurors for the feature films competition. Not to be outdone, the Cinefondation and short films competition had celebrated filmmaker Michel Gondry as its jury president. The Un Certain Regard and Caméra d'Or categories had Serbian director Emir Kusturica and South Korean director Bong Joon-ho as jury presidents, respectively.
The opening ceremony was hosted by Mélanie Laurent, star of Quentin Tarantino's 2009 film Inglourious Basterds. For a first-timer attending the festival, it is impossible not to be star-struck seeing famous celebrities walk the red carpet during the gala opening. But not everything about the festival is glamour and glitz. True to its tradition of honoring those who have made a difference in the film industry, "Italian film director Bernardo Bertolucci was presented with the inaugural Honorary Palme d'Or Award at the opening ceremony of the festival (BST News 2011)." For the opening feature film, Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris made its mark, and one cannot help but feel the "Allen magic" while viewing this wonderful romantic comedy set in France. During the opening ceremony, Lady Gaga gave a spectacular impromptu performance at the waterfront. Her presence and performance became unforgettable moments in the history of the Cannes Film Festival.
No festival is complete without its controversies. On the second day, everyone was still buzzing about the controversy that erupted during the opening ceremony when Danish film director Lars Von Trier was declared persona non grata due to "politically incorrect" comments he made. During the previous day's press conference regarding his feature film entry Melancholia, "he was asked about the relation between the influences of German Romanticism in the film and his own German heritage. The director made jokes about Jews and Nazis. He said he understood Adolf Hitler and admired the work of architect Albert Speer, and jokingly announced that he was a Nazi (BST News 2011)." His tactless remarks did not sit well with many people, and he was subsequently ejected while the festival committee issued an apology for the director's behavior.
Despite being banned from the festival, Von Trier's dramatic science-fiction film was not removed from the feature film competition. Melancholia is a story about "two sisters who are in conflict with each other while the life of the planet is threatened by a large foreign body approaching on a collision course (Festival de Cannes 2011)." The film starred American actress Kirsten Dunst, and there was considerable talk that she was a strong contender for the Prix d'interprétation féminine (Best Actress award). Melancholia received mostly positive reviews during and after its screening and was slated for worldwide release in the latter half of 2011.
Being a film student or professional does not mean concentrating solely on the technical and artistic dimensions of the industry. The business and financial sides are equally critical, because without investment there are no films made and the industry cannot grow. The festival offers not only film screenings and star-gazing but also lectures and presentations from top-level industry professionals. I was privileged to attend a presentation by veteran executive producer Rick Hess, who produced three films in the early 2000s: Auto Focus (2002), Trapped (2002), and Southlander (2001) (New York Times 2011). Hess is now an agent at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), and he spoke about CAA's "co-ownership of Evolution Media Capital, a venture the agency formed a year ago with the core members of Merrill Lynch's media and sports structured-finance group (Fleming 2011)."
An unforgettable statement from Hess was: "Hollywood had a relationship with outside capital that was something less than positive and it made no sense. The guys at CAA agreed and said, 'Let's create a business where we actually have a fiduciary relationship with the investors' (Fleming 2011)." This insight offers much to consider when it comes to the relationship between investors and filmmakers. What Hess pointed out was that investors should not be viewed merely as "financiers" — there should be a partnership built on trust and mutual acceptance of responsibilities. This idea becomes increasingly relevant in today's world given the need to ensure that corporate governance and corporate social responsibility are embedded in the business of filmmaking.
"Korean and Japanese short films screened and analyzed"
"Latin American student films; city of Cannes explored"
"Industry lectures; BP oil spill and jazz pianist films"
"Peter Fonda interview; Canadian and Norwegian shorts"
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