Classic day at Cannes

I think it's safe to say I had a classic and typical day at Cannes yesterday. I woke up early (this time change is tough!!), and walked down to the Palais to get a grip on the day's happenings. After a necessary coffee (okay, two coffees), and a croissant, I was ready to take on the day. I settled in the Palais bar area and read the many daily publications on the highlights to look forward to. I was lucky enough to get into the Juliette Binoche film, "Certified Copy," which was a little disappointing. But it was a surreal experience to see the Cannes logo on the screen for the first time, and find myself among film producers, buyers, directors, etc. all hoping to be wowed.

Pacific Northwest connections were around every corner yesterday... I met a filmmaker named Rob from NYC while waiting to get into the film, and he is friends with the makers of "Bass Ackwards," (and other films by the same people) which is in SIFF this year, and has been submitted to our very own Tacoma Film Festival! He is a good person to know, and it was crazy to talk about some of our common ground. Next, he told me that Paul Allen was having a party on his submarine yacht (first, I immediately thought of this year's 72 hour film Festival winner, "U-253", obviously), and I should try and get there. First of all, I had no idea how to go about that, and a submarine yacht kind of intimidated me. Anyway, after a quick cat nap, a change of clothes and a delicious dinner at a seafood restaurant, I attempted to get into my 2nd film of the day - "Tamara Drewe". I arrived plenty early and was not too far back in line, but they somehow mysteriously only let a handful of people in. I heard snickering from those in line with me that sometimes the process is a bit sketchy and the "important" people can always get in first. Oh, well. I started chatting with a young English woman next to me who has a short film here at Cannes. Naturally, we went for a drink and shared stories about being a young person just starting out in the business. This led to going to an industry party at The Grand hotel, and a walk along the Croisette where we saw Mischa Barton entering a lavish party. It was a late night, but definitely worth it. I still have a hard time believing I am actually here and living this experience!

Today the film line-up leaves much to be desired, so I plan on taking a little day trip somewhere and perhaps doing some shopping. The sun is out - it is a beautiful day to be here!