74th Cannes Film Festival is Back in 2021, Day One- 06-07-2021

After canceling the Cannes Film Festival in 2020 because of Covid 19, the 74th Cannes Film Festival is back in 2021 with its opening day on July 6, albeit two months later than its usual May date.  However, with some major changes to protect attendees, including Covid testing daily, fully vaccinated people along with social distancing and the wearing of masks.  

The red carpet steps are as lively with the paparazzi who I am sure missed having the opportunity last year of capturing pictures of the stars in attendance. This year they have the added pleasure of having Jury President Spike Lee Jury who always brings a lot of antics and wit on the red carpet. Opening day at the 74th Cannes Film Festival he showed up in a Louis Vuitton hot pink suit with matching sunglasses and custom Nike sneakers with his face on the tongue and a pink trim. Spike also has the added attention of having his likeness on the this years program, the Palais billboard and the official poster. An unheard of accomplishment at the Cannes Film Festival. I have attended every year since 2000 and never saw this offered to any other Jury President. Spike Lee will lead the jury of this year's at this years Cannes Film Festival and organizers hope the provocative American director will “shake things up” at the gathering of the world's cinema elite. Lee said he was “honored to be the first person of the African diaspora" chosen for the prestigious position. I am so sorry I was not able to attend Cannes this year for this historic moment and to cheer on Spike Lee in his history making role. 

2012 Cannes Film Festival - Day 1

2012 Cannes Film Festival - Day 1  -  Moonrise Kingdom

Official Selection of Films in Competition

COMPETITION

• AMOUR (LOVE) directed by Michael HANEKE
• BAAD EL MAWKEAA (AFTER THE BATTLE) directed by Yousry NASRALLAH
• COSMOPOLIS directed by David CRONENBERG
• DA-REUN NA-RA-E-SUH (IN ANOTHER COUNTRY) directed by HONG Sangsoo
• DE ROUILLE ET D'OS (RUST AND BONE) directed by Jacques AUDIARD
• DO-NUI MAT (THE TASTE OF MONEY) directed by IM Sang-Soo
• DUPÃ DEALURI (BEYOND THE HILLS) directed by Cristian MUNGIU
• HOLY MOTORS directed by Leos CARAX
• JAGTEN (THE HUNT) directed by Thomas VINTERBERG
• KILLING THEM SOFTLY directed by Andrew DOMINIK
• LAWLESS directed by John HILLCOAT
• LIKE SOMEONE IN LOVE directed by Abbas KIAROSTAMI
• MOONRISE KINGDOM directed by Wes ANDERSON
• MUD directed by Jeff NICHOLS
• ON THE ROAD directed by Walter SALLES
• PARADIES: LIEBE (PARADISE: LOVE) directed by Ulrich SEIDL
• POST TENEBRAS LUX directed by Carlos REYGADAS
• REALITY directed by Matteo GARRONE
• THE ANGELS' SHARE directed by Ken LOACH
• THE PAPERBOY directed by Lee DANIELS
• V TUMANE (IN THE FOG) directed by Sergei LOZNITSA
• VOUS N'AVEZ ENCORE RIEN VU (YOU AIN'T SEEN NOTHIN' YET!) directed by Alain RESNAIS

If you were wondering if I was posting a blog after Day 1 in Cannes, well it almost didn't happen. I attended the opening night ceremonies and the screening of the opening film Moonrise Kingdom, thanks to my friend Yolonda creator of the symposium Beyond Borders Diversity in Cannes. We hit the red carpet at around 6:25pm and ended up on the carpet at the same time as Eva Longoria and just ahead of the film's cast (Bruce Willis, Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Edward Norton).

This is my first time attending the opening ceremonies that included a touching video tribute to Marilyn Monroe accompanied by a female performer and her band singing Elton John's Candle in the wind. The young woman was so excited to be there she was practically jumping up and down at the finish. She said this was the biggest prom in the world and she was so excited to be invited. She literally did a tango off the stage with one of the stage directors. Really funny, the audience loved it.

The film which tells the story of two 12-year-olds who fall in love before making a secret pact and running away together, also included newcomers Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward as the young lovelorn couple. This is a quirky but sweet movie about young love, filmed like a
moving art painting. I really enjoyed this movie. I was interviewed as I was leaving by a reporter covering for a television station inside the Palais about my thoughts on the film. The last time I was interviewed was for Tiscali magazine during the screening of The Matrix Reloaded in 2003. This interview led to my missing the last connection back to Nice and I ended up crashing on my friend Yolonda's couch, then had to get up this morning and make my way back to Nice looking like a you-know-what the morning after, still dressed in my evening attire. Thank God for sunglasses. Me and Yolonda had a big laugh about this situation.

My iPad is not allowing me to post pictures in my blog, so I will have to upload them as posts on my Facebook page. So look for them there. Meanwhile check out my video stream on this page.

Til next time.

First Cannes Red Carpet Experience

May 2001 is my first time in Cannes for the film festival. I traveled here with my best friend Trudy and my neighbors in Nice, Dan and Mary Dennis. They brought their son Lance who is experiencing his first trip to the French Riviera. The Dennis' have traveled here before and were the first people I called when I found out about the flats for sale in Nice when I traveled here in March 2000 for my birthday. We purchased adjacent flats at Residence Massena and decided that it was the perfect location for visiting during the Cannes Film Festival and the Monte Carlo Grand Prix. Prior to our first trip in May 2001, Dan was in Los Angeles for a Board of Directors meeting for Bank of Commerce. He spoke with one of the other attendees for another bank about our upcoming trip to Nice and our hope to attend the Cannes Film Festival while there, but didn't have any credentials or knew anyone in the industry. The Gentleman he spoke with, responded, "well you do now" and introduced himself as a VP of Sony Films. Long story short he hooked Dan up with John Honore from Columbia Pictures France in Paris and John hooked us up with Sherani Mercier the Columbia representative in Cannes. We met Sherani at the Carlton who arranged for us to attend Sean Penn and Jack Nicholson's screening after-party for their movie 'The Pledge' that evening and also arranged for us to attend a screening and walk the red carpet the next day. The film that we saw was the Russian entry in competition. Thus my first foray onto the Cannes red carpet.

2001 Official Cannes Film Festival Program

Program Page for The Pledge

Partygoer's at the after party for Sean Penn's move The Pledge

Party after The Pledge red carpet screening

Ticket for Russian film Taurus red carpet screening at Grand Theater Luminere 

Program details of Russian Film "Taurus"

Drinks after the red carpet screening of Taurus

I must say for my first ever trip to the Cannes Film Festival, the most prestigious in the world, it was more than I ever expected to be able to break the barrier of the most sought after red carpet in the world. 

Looking forward to many more years of visiting the French Riviera and the Cannes Film Festival. Call me the luckiest girl in the world.