And just like that, the Cannes Film Festival is over for another year.
With the coveted Palme d’or handed out to Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall, the Grand Prix to Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest and premieres for the likes of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Wes Anderson’s latest star-studded affair, it was a packed 11 days on the Croisette.
As a first timer at the film festival there was a lot of get to grips with both before and during my stay on the French Riviera, including where to go, when to go and sometimes even how to go to various places.
From screenings to press conferences and red-carpet premieres to interviews and ticking off Cannes traditions, there is never a moment spare at the world’s most glamorous and celebrity-fuelled film festival.
There was a lot to digest, pain au chocolat and pasta aside, but here are five of my takeaways from attending Cannes.
A 5-minute standing ovation means nothing
Despite the obsession everyone has over keeping records of the length of standing ovations films premiering at the Grand Théâtre Lumière receive, it is not a big deal in and of itself.
The massive 2,309-seater theatre at the Palais des Festivals often hosts at least two premieres a night, with cameras provided to capture the red carpet, the entrance of director and cast to the theatre and every second after the credits start to roll.
It’s only polite to leap to your feet in applause, congratulating the team behind the film after the movie enjoys its moment of glory on the big screen I learned.
Due to the way it’s all orchestrated too it often takes a minimum of five minutes, as the director and each cast member gets their own close-up and congratulations in turn from the camera, which is beamed onto the big screen to encourage the clapping.
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Therefore, every moment the applause may seem to be coming to a close, there’s a fresh face onscreen deserving of their moment of adulation, before the team eventually start to exit from the theatre.
This whole process seems to take a minimum of five minutes, the most commonly-occurring ovation length – so it’s probably only really worth taking note of what the applause might say about a film’s quality when we’re looking at around eight minutes and upwards.
The dress code isn’t as strict as you think
Cannes Film Festival’s dress code attracts almost as much attention each year as the actors in attendance themselves, with plenty of argy-bargy previously over women wearing high heels on the red carpet, for instance.
While nothing has ever been set in stone, there is definitely a certain expectation when it comes to the formality of dressing up to attend one of the film premieres of the festival.
However, in recent years they have officially relaxed the ‘tuxedo, formal dress’ code ever so slightly – cocktail dresses, dark suits, a dressy top with black trousers, a little black dress or a black or navy suit with bowtie are all accepted on the red carpet.
‘Elegant shoes with either flat or high heels’ are also ‘requested’ in the dress code section, with a ‘no sneakers’ request specifically mentioned.
I did, however, spot a pair of trainers paired with a suit that managed to gain one lady access to a premiere. I’m also still thinking too much about the man I saw dressed in a dinner jacket and bowtie on top and blue jeans on his bottom half – who knows how they managed to judge that one.
The festival makes for, without a doubt, one of the highest proportions of formally dressed people anywhere in the world, especially when you add into the equation people attending their 8:30am screenings already dressed for the evening, and those locals and visitors holding up signs begging for any spare premiere tickets, all primped and polished too.
(Also, I really should have packed my foldable flats in order to even entertain the idea of wearing heels at any time after negotiating the hills and cobbles on the way to the Palais.)
Sleep is a luxury
Speaking of 8:30am, oh boy do they not mess around when it comes to presenting a jam-packed schedule to all attendees of the festival, press and industry alike.
With over 60 titles showing and multiple screenings for each usually available – plus several theatre venues in play – Cannes Film Festival seems to treat rest as if it’s for the weak.
It is common to need to be outside the Palais des Festivals ahead of 8am to get seated for the first screening of the day, the same as the final premiere event each evening is usually scheduled to start at 10:30pm or even 11pm.
That means you’re often on the go until past 1am (and that’s before you factor in any parties).
It always rains during the first week of the festival
I was a little disappointed to arrive in Cannes the day after the festival opened on May 16 to find the sky grey, rain imminent and the temperature not exactly warm.
What’s worse is my weather app seemed to insist it was going to rain every single day I was there, something way too similar to drizzly London for my liking.
As we neared the weekend though, the rain became less common and the sun stronger, giving me hope to dream of brighter days ahead.
Talking to the manager of my hotel he claimed that it always rains during the first week of the film festival before improving to weather more befitting of the French Riviera – and he was absolutely right.
By Monday, all thoughts of tights were forgotten, I was slapping on the SPF 50 and pulling out the sun dresses I’d thrown in my suitcase last minute ‘just in case’.
It’s hard to find a vegetable
So as a French city, Cannes is obviously chocka with restaurants serving the finest of its cuisine, as well as plenty inspired by nearby Italy.
You can’t move for croissants, baguettes, pasta and pizza – but fruit and vegetables? By day three I was having quite marked withdrawal symptoms.
The breakfast in my hotel was entirely devoid of fruit (unless you count the orange juice), and meals were always far more likely to be accompanied by bread than anything else.
I was so disappointed when the apricots I picked up at a convenience store proved incredibly unripe, although I rejoiced the day I found tomatoes hidden in my pasta and a salad on the menu.
It sounds funny for fruit and vegetables to be hard to come by in such a health-conscious celebrity-filled place as Cannes, but I can only assume it’s easier to find fresh greens on their budget (or lack thereof) as opposed to mine.
For the rest of us, we’re stuck with making sure we grab our panini on the go with tomato as well as mozzarella and olive oil to at least get one of our five a day in (sort of).
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