One Day to #Cannes2017

Finally one more day as tomorrow, May 17th, the festival will open with the Opening Ceremony that this year and due to all the official site changes and for the very-first-time in recent years, have the unsettling sensation that the ceremony will not be open to the world live.  Let's hope I'm wrong and if there is worldwide access will post link and/or video in this blog.

Since yesterday celebrities have been arriving to Nice airport and there are lots of nine-unfashionable photos for Marion Cotillard, Jessica Chastain, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Julianne Moore, Maren Ade, Fan Bingbing, Monica Bellucci and more.  If you wish to see some go to my pinterest site here where everyday will have new photos from photocalls, press conferences, red carpets, etc.

Radio Festival

Today organizers made available a specific site for Radio Festival and now there is a program that I assume will be updated daily.  As organizers say "during 12 days, experience the Festival live from its official webradio: Radio Festival. Starting May 17th, on the Festival de Cannes’ official website and replayed podcasts platforms.  It starts tomorrow at 9 a.m with Virginie Apiou and Marie-Noëlle Dana in « Notre cinéma est une histoire d’amour » -available only in French.

Listen to Radio Festival music today and from tomorrow on to podcasts and special emissions at the official site here.

15th Prix Unifrance

Just a few moments ago, award organizers published the short films that will compete for this annual award given next Thursday, May 25th at UniFrance pavillion in Cannes.  Also announced was the jury that will give the two awards, Le Grand Prix and Le Prix Coup de cœur.

These are the 18 short films that are being considered in this edition.

Enfant chéri by Valérie Mréjen and Bertrand Schefer
The Gas Station by Djinda Kane
Belle à croquer by Axel Courtière
Marlon by Jessica Palud
Negative Spaceby Max Porter and Ru Kuwahata
Tangente by Julie Jouve and Rida Belghiat
Les Bigorneaux by Alice Vial
Jungle by Colia Vranici
Nothing Happens by Michelle Kranot and Uri Kranot
Chez soi by François Raffenaud
Le Monde du petit monde by Fabrice Bracq
Bleu comme la mère by Yohann Zveig
Event Horizon by Joséfa Celestin
L'Étui rouge by Loran Perrin
[entends-moi] by Nicolas Coquet
Fruit défendu by Marion Jhöaner
La Table des grands by Nathalia Konchalovsky
Les Animaux domestiques by Jean Lecointre

To read about each short film go official site here; if you subscribe to site you'll be able to watch some short films too.  Also use link to learn jury members.

The Events of the 70th Festival de Cannes

May 17th will mark the beginning of not only the screenings, but of 12 days of celebration! From the Opening Ceremony to the awards ceremony on Sunday, May 18th, both emceed by Monica Bellucci, the Festival will celebrate its 70th edition by initiating brand new tailor-made events and inviting numerous stars and personalities.

Here are the events that will take place throughout this 70th edition. Have included only events not covered in other posts, but if you wish to read complete info go to official site here.

-On the opening night, from early evening until late at night, the Festival offers a Welcome Party to greet the festival-goers and the press. The party will take place on the Plage du Majestic  as well as on the Agora, with live music by the Fantasy Live Experience Orchestra and DJ Daddy Ryton.



-After the party on Friday, May 12th organized for professionals based in Cannes, three dinners will be held in honor of different components of the international film community, one for industry professionals, another for directors and the last for journalists and film critics.

on Friday, May 19th, in the Grand Salon of the Carlton Hotel, a dinner for the film industry professionals present in Cannes. On this occasion, a Tribute will be paid to American producer Jeffrey Katzenberg.
on Saturday, May 20th, at the Agora, the “Dinner of the Festivals” will reunite 150 directors of the greatest film festivals in the world.
on Thursday, May 25th, in the Grand Salon of the Carlton Hotel, the “Press Dinner” will gather 250 international journalists and critics present in Cannes.

-On May 23rd, the Anniversary Evening will celebrate the 70th season in exceptional style. Under the presidency of Isabelle Huppert, the stage of the Grand Théâtre Lumière will feature screenings, edited archives and film extracts, musical interludes and presentations by artists. The traditional anniversary dinner will bring together all the major figures at Cannes that evening, including many artists who have won the Palme d’or, or have left their mark on the history of the Festival.

-On the Plage Macé (Macé beach) two open-air concerts will be held for this anniversary edition:

on Sunday 21 May: an exceptional concert with -M-, who will present his new album "ÎL" EST UNE ÂME, le Baptême de LAMOMALI, accompanied by star African kora players Toumani and Sidiki Diabaté, Malian soul diva Fatoumata Diawara (discovered thanks to the success of Abderrahmane Sissako’s Timbuktu). Free entrance upon presentation of a ticket to be collected at the Cannes city hall and at the Festival.
onThursday 25 May: a second exceptional show, performed by TONY GATLIF AND HIS REBETIKO BAND, popular Greek music, followed by the premiere screening of his latest film, Djam (France-Turkey, 2017, 1h37), a musical journey through Turkey full of hope and sharing.

-Following on from Festival TV created in 2002, Cannes will inaugurate Radio Festival, its official web radio, which will, alongside programs from the archives and live broadcasts from the major events, feature discussion forums on the cinema of the future. Podcasts from May 17th on. Operator: Moustic.

-On the Web, the history of the event can now be viewed online on the new official site, designed to showcase the archives, with articles, photos, videos, reports, correspondence and rare documents -in collaboration with the Cinémathèque française, INA, AFP and Getty Images.

-A Prize will be given to Photographers by a dedicated jury, to discover the most striking images and reward, at the end of the Festival, the best photos from the 70th season, as a Tribute to press photographers who have also contributed to the Festival’s legend.

-The city of Cannes is in sync with the celebration. To celebrate the 70th edition of the Festival, the Cannes Town Hall has organized a series of events throughout the year devoted to cinema: a logo in effigy form of the 70 years of the Festival, a permanent red carpet, photographs of the stars by Gilles Traverso, masterclasses, exhibitions, meetings, a temporary museum, open-air screenings… and during the Festival in particular, the exhibition Cannes fait le mur, giant screens and a pétanque game, co-organized by the Festival de Cannes.

-Many important figures will attend the Festival, and in particular the anniversary night. From May 17th to May 28th, the screenings will be exceptional as well, welcoming the following guests of honor:

Clint Eastwood, who was President of the Jury in 1994, and will be in Cannes from 19 to 21 May. On Saturday 20th May at 4:45 PM, he will be at the Debussy Theatre to present the restored copy of Unforgiven, which is celebrating its own 25th anniversary at the Festival with Warner. The following day, he will inaugurate the 70th Anniversary Masterclass with a discussion in the company of American critic Kenneth Turan, in the Buñuel screening room at 4 PM.

Jane Campion who presided the Feature Film Jury in 2014 and remains to this day the only female director to have garnered a Palme d’or for The Piano in 1993, will present her latest work on Tuesday 23rd May, Top of the Lake: China Girl, which she co-directed with Ariel Kleiman.

David Lynch, 1990 winner of the Palme d’or with Wild at Heart, Best Director in 2001 with Mulholland Drive and President of the Jury in 2002, will return to the Festival to present Season 3 of Twin Peaks on Thursday 25th May at 7:30 PM in the Grand Théâtre Lumière.



Throughout the Festival, Alejandro González Iñárritu the visionary director of Birdman and The Revenant, and winner of the Best Director for Babel, will present his 6 minutes 30 seconds film Carne y Arena, an immersive experience within an incredible Virtual Reality installation.

Alfonso Cuarón, a member of the Feature Film Jury in 2008, director, producer and screenwriter, will also give a Masterclass, in the company of film critic Michel Ciment on Wednesday 24th May at 4:30 PM in the Buñuel screening room, during which they will discuss his career in Hollywood and Mexico.



On Monday 22 May, the Debussy Theatre will host a Tribute to André Téchiné. The French director, who was a member of the Feature Film Jury in 1999, has presented 11 films in the Official Selection since 1975, including 6 in Competition. His new film, Nos années folles, will be screened to mark the occasion. Those who have accompanied him in his movies throughout the years will be present.

Finally, in memory of the immense Abbas Kiarostami, winner of the 1997 Palme d’or for Taste of Cherry, who died on 4 July 2016, there will be a screening of his posthumous film 24 Frames. The session will take place on Tuesday 23 May in the presence of his friends and his son Ahmad Kiarostami.



-Two actresses, whose commitment to the Festival in recent years has been plain to see, will enjoy their first experience at Cannes as short films directors and will be present on the Croisette.

Robin Wright, at the opening of Cannes Classics on Thursday 18 May in the Buñuel screening room at 8 PM, the actress, producer and now director will come to present her first short, The Dark of Night, homage to film noir. It will be followed by the screening of the restored copy of Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz, winner of the Palme d’or in Cannes in 1980.

Kristen Stewart, after starring in the last two years in the films of Woody Allen and Olivier Assayas and winning a Best Supporting Actress Cesar, the young American actress will come to present Come Swim – her first work as a director – on Saturday 20 May at 6:45 PM.



Some of the events we already knew about them, but perhaps the most interesting one is the prize that will be given to press photographers, which I find extremely interesting and one that should find a sponsor so every year could be awarded to the best photo from the festival.

Also very interesting to find that Robin Wright will also premiere in Cannes her first short film and surely no-surprise to find that it's an homage to film noir as genre absolutely fits her image, or at least, the image I have from her as an individual -not an actress.  Then we have Kristen with her first short film which yes, I'm dying to see to find where is she going as a director.  We have to recall that Stewart co-directed a music video from Sage +The Saints and directed a Chvrches music video, so she's has been practicing directing since about 3 years ago.

Download the Official App

If you wish to watch Cannes stuff while on the move then the fest app is a must even do is not that user friendly (lol) and has not much info yet -as of today.  To download the app available on iPhone, iPad and Android go to official site here.  Yes, I have both  IOS versions active.

Today's Closing Comments

To my HUGE surprise there are a lot of Cannes 2017 films already sold for major distribution, including some from what used to be hard-to-sell independent cinema in ACID selection.  Most already sold films have set release dates in France, USA and other countries so consequences is that for a change, we -the audience- will be able to watch many of the films sooner than later!  Great!  In the past we had to wait a year or more, and in the worst cases many films NEVER became available to wider audiences, sigh.

So seems things are changing for the better in an industry that collects each year billions of dollars and does NOT want to change its schemes.  This is an industry that needs to be reminded that "change is the only constant" if they wish to have a future.

Tomorrow we will have the Opening Ceremony and the premiere of Arnaud Desplechin Ismael's Ghosts that assures Marion Cotillard and Charlotte Gainsbourg will walk the red carpet but also know that there will be quite a films with press screenings so will check press initial reactions for Todd Haynes Wonderstruck and Loveless by Andrey Zvyagintsev, as well as probably films like Barbara by Mathieu Amalric, Claire Denis Un Beau Soleil Interieur and more.

The Red Buttons

By-the-way this year festival attendees received in the gift bag red buttons, some with the most funny inscriptions like "How come I didn't get invited?", "I'm so pathetic: I took a selfie on the red carpet",  "I did not understand it, but film was really good" (LOL!),  "Do you have an extra invitation?" and more...

IF jury in the balcony traditional photos become available later tonight, will include them in post; if not, then will be tomorrow.