Wed May 18, Day 3 of Cannes
Wed morning I thought, screw it, we brought a bunch of
dressy outfits here and haven’t used them. We CAN walk around in jeans all day.
But we can just as easily wear a ball gown and tiara and fit in. So we picked
something fun to wear and headed right to the red carpet. Well, the street in
FRONT of the red carpet, and took a few photos. Here’s the secret about Cannes,
you have to apply to attend the biggest screenings. We tried to apply, but
probably did it wrong, and/or didn’t get any tickets. So we didn’t get to go.
And, other than our own film, we hadn’t seen any other films. And so we tried
to go to a screening of an upcoming American film, and didn’t get in. So we
tried plan B and got into a collection of short films. I won’t say which ones.
But as I’ve always said, seeing horrible films or performances inspire me more
than brilliant ones. I certainly don’t seek them out, but when it happens that
I see something dreadful, I KNOW I can do better. And these shorts were…inspiring.
After that, we had the weirdest dining experience of the
week. A kebab shop on the side street, totally packed. And reminded me of the
restaurants on restaurant row in NYC where the guys stand outside and
practically wrestle you into their business to keep you away from the other
places. The service was startling. I watched them move a pair of women, in the
MIDDLE of their eating, to a smaller table to be able to seat a trio. I had
food served to me OVER another table (because the tables all abutted each
other). I asked for more sauce, and they brought a giant squeeze bottle out,
leaned over someone else, and just squirted a whole ½ cup of it onto my plate.
Not gently. No asking. And they were NICE about it, but it scared the crap out
of me and made me laugh very hard.
In the afternoon, we took in 2 more panels. A live podcast
of Screen Talk, and a panel on fundraising for short films. Which didn’t really
talk about fundraising, but did talk about producing short films and was
interesting.
Our last meal, we met up with Karolina again and slowly
walked home wandering through streets of shops we never saw open. Tomorrow
morning we eat breakfast and leave Cannes.
Did I achieve everything I’d hoped? Nope. Not even close. My
favorite lecture (David Lyman) always talked about how to set goals at the
start of a week such as this. That before you come, you set goals. Day 1 you
realize half those goals won’t be achieved, and you create new ones. But
really, the best weeks are ones that inspire you to make a list of what to do
AFTER that week. I came home with a stack of business cards, new contacts. A
stack of flyers of my film to send to people. And enough inspiration to create
more films and get to go back to Cannes, bigger and better. I’m glad I went. I’m
proud of myself for all the French I spoke. I didn’t have nearly as bad luck
with eating as I did last summer.
It was an honor to be invited. Thank you all for the tips,
the support, and reading my travel log!
for more photos and posts, please see our Thank You Lisa Facebook page!
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