That
morning the clouds rolled over the hills and took their position above the
town. The festival was just starting and even though all the tents and stages
were set, they were only a few people walking around them. I exited the dock
and walked down the long road out of the parking lot, and into the town. I
passed by what was going to be the area where they were going to screen the new
movie “Gatsby”. The red carpet led to a
massive black entrance where above the doorway, two large, spectacled eyes
looked forward towards the town. I wanted to get a closer look but 2 large
security men were watching me closely.
I took the
road into the town and tried to get a feel for the city. Cannes is a small
seaside town that has the term French Riviera written all over it. The shops
and buildings were multi-colored and looked aged and slightly worn, which added
to its charm.
Walking
closer to the main center of the festival, I started to see more people. Most
of the people were well dressed and wore expensive cloths and jewelry and I noticed that they all followed a certain
look. It was an artsy look that gave me
the impression that they must have been filmmakers or at least working in the
film industry (after all, it is a film festival!).
I walked by
several tents and poked my head into a few. Each tent featured its own company
and/or country of origin. I saw the film society for New Zealand, Austria,
Canada and several others. They had mounted up small billboards inside the tent
with the latest movies they were trying to promote to the industry.
After
walking past a few of the tents I reached the main theaters. The red carpet was
rolled out and blocked off by red velvet ropes. There were a few people with
plastic passes around their necks that were allowed in; otherwise the security
was strict. Several spectators took their photos in front of the red carpet
outside of the velvet ropes. I snapped a few photos myself and walked past.
The shops
around the area were high end. The manikins in the windows seemed to display
the latest fashions with high price tags. Some of them looked very nice as some
of them seemed kind of silly. One style in particular that gave me a laugh was
a high-end tuxedo that had tuxedo shorts instead of tuxedo pants.
I finally
reached the other side of the festival and decided to go on the other side of
the road and head back. I passed by the glamorous Ritz Carlton hotel that was
decorated for the festival. It had some advertisements as well as a bright
yellow sports car on display on their front lawn.
I finally
passed the other side of the festival again and reached a small park where some
older gentleman were playing Bache ball.
There were several parts of the park that were boxed off using woods
boards to separate the different courts. The men, shouting in French, were
throwing the balls at the other balls on the court. I watched as they would get
excited and also their reactions after every careful throw. I watched for a few
minutes and then proceeded to walk back to the dock.
On my way
back, I walked through some small roads to see what I could find. I found some
apartment buildings that were nestled along side the hill which over looked the
ocean. I also found a building with an amusing mural on its side. It
illustrated the history of the film festival with animated characters of past
films, actors and directors. Some of the characters were Charlie Chaplin,
Jessica Rabbit and Marilyn Monroe.
The excitement caused by the film festival
electrified the air. The town was buzzing and I felt fortunate enough to get a
small glimpse of it. I wish I could have stayed over night to see how the city
would of transformed. The town itself was charming and also displayed a sense
of history, high class and a shit ton of money. The streets were almost
exclusively lined with BMWs, Mercedes and other high-end cars. It seemed as
only the rich and/or famous lived here. It was fun to walk around see the
sights but I don’t know if I could have afforded to stay too long! -DB
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