KELLY MASON writes:
OK, first things first. Get all of those the-French-don't-like-Americans and the-French-are-snooty-and-rude ideas out of your head. It's a myth.
Every French person I encountered was kind, accommodating, patient, and willing to forgive me for butchering his or her language. I found no anti-American sentiment here, only people who did their best to help me bumble around their beautiful country.
I am exhausted, my clothes are dirty, and my feet are barely able to support my weight. But this has been the most incredible experience. The 61st Cannes Film Festival teaches us by its existence that nothing lasts forever. Great movies and not-so-great movies, traffic jams and stargazers … for all the glitz and glamour, it only lasts two weeks. After that we'll all be headed home, and we will be free to manifest our Cannes experience in whichever way we choose. Some of us will sleep it off for days; some of us just woke up to the possibilities of our futures, and won't sleep until we've made it.
Of all the souvenirs in my bag, the friends and connections that I made are the ones that I will remember. The shot glasses and "Somebody I love went to Cannes and all I got was this lousy t-shirt" paraphernalia will be passed out and eventually forgotten, but I'll never forget the guy who was so drunk that he overslept and forgot to pick up Jude Law from the airport. (I won't give his name, but just know he will rule the world someday.)
I will also remember the Universal Studio executive who let me pitch to her and was impressed enough with it to ask to read the script. I got good advice, and I might have sold a script. I saw good movies and better movies (watch for Steve McQueen's Hunger), and I had enough jambon and fromage paninis to ensure I never eat another one.
This festival experience was a little like WalMart (or Monoprix in France). You can literally pick up everything in one place. The prices aren't so reasonable, but the quality is unbeatable.
There are tons of stories to share, like when we all banded together to find C.J. because he got lost six blocks from the hotel. Or when Kameishia got Spike Lee's attention long enough to hand him her movie. The simple truth is, though, some of these stories were so funny or touching or intimate that they defy description—even for a writer.
I was honored to be in the company of such talented, wonderful people. Columbia should be proud. We did them as well as they did us, proving that a Columbia College Chicago education opens doors around the world. We stood out, and I guarantee you'll hear from us again.
I am ready to go back to Chicago. I've been all over the world, but there is really no place or nothing like home. Except gelato.
But today, I'll take home.
Au revoir, Cannes.
Screenwriting major Kelly Mason, Film major Jennifer Nelson, and Film & Video department staff member Lyn Pusztai at Cannes.
Kelly Mason is a Screenwriting major.
C.J. ARELLANO writes:
It's Saturday, the penultimate day of the festival, and Cannes is more or less barren by now. All the major power players have packed up and flown home. Market booths have been deserted. It's like ... think Lawrence of Arabia, but without all the fun sand.
Amid all the quietude, I can reflect on how this has been one of the most significant experiences I've had as a fledgling filmmaker. My full experience has been too rich to delineate here in full, but I can offer some highlights:
- I met with that producer I had mentioned in a previous post. In addition to giving me invaluable advice on how to succeed in the industry, he offered me an internship on the next feature that his company will be filming in L.A. in the fall. Score!
- Karaoke night at the American Pavilion was an unabashed BLAST. Ben, a self-described and self-conscious introvert, brought down the house with his fantastic, raucous, off-the-guard-rails rendition of "I Would Walk 500 Miles." Cameron boasted his falsetto pipes with "We'll Stay Together," and Kelly and I partied like it was 1995 with "Gangsta's Paradise."
- A personal, unexpected high point came during a panel with filmmakers Charlie Kaufman, Spike Jonze, and Anthony Bregman, who collaborated on Kaufman's directorial debut, Synecdoche, New York. Kaufman and Jonze are among my artistic idols. (Bregman's work on their projects no doubt makes him the unsung hero of the trio.) Hearing them both philosophize about the artistic process and dole out very practical advice about how to achieve success, yet retain your own creative voice ... that maybe in and of itself made this trip worth the effort, sweat, preparation, and funds that I (and my parents) had been exhausting for months prior.
Oh, I should talk about the actual films I've seen here at this, y'know, film festival.
THE GREAT
Blindness - This film has gotten mostly a lukewarm-to-cold reception from the auds here at Cannes. (Oh my God. I said "auds." I've officially been reading Variety here too much.) Yes, it had significant story flaws; the disturbing second act in particular is not entirely justified. Furthermore, the film works more as a sharp social commentary but falls short as a personal, emotional story. Still, the strengths easily make up for the shortcomings; the cinematography, editing, and sound design are precise and masterful, and the actors, Julianne Moore in particular, work wonders with the relatively thin character material they're given.
Lorna's Silence - An unassuming, quietly powerful character study. Arta Dobroshi, who plays the titular Lorna, turns in a beautiful, restrained performance.
Hunger - This brutal and harrowing prison drama from Steve McQueen is hard to watch, and I mean that in the best way. There are images and scenes that will forever be burned into my head. Again, in the best way.
THE GOOD
Absurdistan - A charming, whimsical fairy-tale offering from Germany.
Apocalypse Code - A relentlessly cheesy James-Bond-type action pic from Russia. I hope this gets some kind of distribution in the States (maybe I'll come across it on Netflix someday) because I would be more than happy to reacquaint myself with its hammy performances, pointless explosions, and convoluted plot twists. If film is a universal language, cheesy action pictures is a universal swear word that will never go away.
HMM...
Che - Steven Soderbergh's epic about Che Guevera is four hours long. It feels 10 times that. There are whole sections that could easily be nixed, and the film is not so much a portrait of the polarizing iconic figure as it is a history textbook reading. I say this as an admirer of Soderbergh's work. Word is that Soderbergh will likely reedit the material down into a solid 2.5-hour film. I hope he does because I can totally see such a judicious edit transforming this project into a focused, refined work. I guess we'll have to stay tuned!
Okay. Only one and a half more days left. See you on the other side!
C.J. Arellano at the premiere of Blindness.
C.J. Arellano is a Screenwriting major.
JON MENDENHALL writes:
When I first went off to college, I went to a video game programming school outside of Seattle. While there, I took an art appreciation class that forced me to go to my first art house movie theatres. I instantly fell in love with the Landmark theatre chain. The Egyptian, Harvard Exit, Crest, Varsity, Seven Gables, and a slew of others became an oasis for the new films I was being exposed to. Each theatre had its own culture and experience, be it the retractable chandelier, $3 art movies, or a screening room surrounded by a painted mural and Roman-style columns.
Over the past couple of days I've seen the crap of the market screenings. I've also been exposed to two of my instant favorite theatres. The Buñuel Theatre is where they show primarily the Cannes Classics and the Cinéfondation Selection. This theatre is about 15 rows deep and bows around the screen. The experience of being able to walk comfortably around the aisles without other viewers having to stand up took me a second to adjust to. Overall, the theatre offered a sense of intimacy and focus of attention I rarely get.
The second, the Soixantième Theatre, is the second-day screening room for the red-carpet events. It reminded me of the main theatre of Crest Cinema in Seattle before its renovations several years ago. The theatre is one large corridor that reminds me of an aircraft hanger. The amount of people and the ability to see everyone in attendance (unlike the Grand Théâtre Lumière) added a blast-from-the-past feeling of going to the "talkies." Collectively, we all we're being exposed to images as they reflected off the screen. Seeing the light of the film reaching around to the back of the audience's heads was an experience like no other.
These two theatres brought the experience of watching a movie back to my consciousness. If more exhibitors offered this experience, consumers wouldn't need flat screens and surround-sound systems. Maybe theatre operators will start to take a page from the art house and festival circuit before they lose the battle to home theatres.
Jon Mendenhall is a Critical Studies major.
RON FALZONE writes:
We're now in something of a home stretch. The festival runs until this coming Sunday, but truthfully the work part of it will pretty much die out by Saturday.
I continue to be impressed with this group of students. Their work ethic is remarkable and their willingness to try everything is great fun to watch. At the same time, you can see the fatigue begin to creep in. Many of them are at parties every night and these frequently go until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning. The parties are a fundamental part of this experience. To an outsider they must sound like fun, and sometimes they are. Mostly, though, they are just an extension of the business that is transacted during the day.
All of the parties seem to play the same music and always at excessive length. For reasons that have never been clear to me, this is invariably music from the high end of the Disco era. I'm already convinced that Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" is the Muzak that we will all hear on the elevator to hell. For the students, the only effect of this music is that they all have sore throats from shouting over it.
Right now, the biggest challenge for all of them appears to be finding distributors who handle short films. They are certainly around here, but they require some digging. One of the best aspects of this search is the way that these students have come to rely on each other and to share their leads. In such a competitive business world as Cannes, it is refreshing to see a group of people who are constantly looking out for each other. This extends to the inevitable problems that arise.
Several nights ago, one of the students found himself alone and lost in an unfamiliar part of town. The buses around here are infrequent at best and nearly nonexistent after 10 p.m. He was able to get a hold of one of the other students before his phone died and that student in turn marshaled the forces. They were finally able to get back in contact with him, arranged for his transportation back, and mercilessly kidded him about if for days. Still, the search was an act of comradeship and the doing of it was a bonding experience.
Another equally memorable moment came this past Sunday. Nine of our students were due to walk down the aisle at graduation but chose to come here instead. One of them, Jennifer Nelson, organized a graduation ceremony to be held at the same time (accounting for the time change) on Majestic Beach in front of the American Pavilion.
In the absence of diplomas, Jen provided individual baguettes and I was given the honor of handing them out. When it was over, the baguettes were thrown with great ceremony into the air. In the midst of this, a filmmaker from Nigeria wandered up the beach and watched the ceremony. Afterward, when he asked me what was going on, he beamed. "I was the only one to see! I was their parents!" he said to me. And he did a fine job of standing in at that.
Class of 2008 graduates with their baguette diplomas on the beach at Cannes.
Ron Falzone is a professor in the Film + Video department.
JON MENDENHALL writes:
Today I got a chance to watch an amazing Bollywood film, Vanaja. The film is about a 15-year-old lower-caste girl, Vanaja, who begins working for a rich landlady. Vanaja begins learning how to dance and sing to traditional music from the landlady. The landlady's son comes home from the USA and begins to flirt with Vanaja. Their flirting becomes more intense until the son rapes Vanaja.
While this may sound disturbing, the filmmakers cut around the violence to only service the plot. The film did a great job with character development by offering reasons to hate and love the characters. You could even consider the landlady and her son the morally good, depending on the scene. Unlike some Indian film, the film uses the music and dance to helped stir emotions and build tension for Vanja as her story worsens. Vanaja has distribution in America and I would encourage anyone interested in a complex Indian film to see it.
Jon Mendenhall is a Critical Studies major.
C.J. ARELLANO writes:
I'm at a public laptop and there's a long line, so I'm going to have to make this quick.
- The worst thing about France? The mighty euro pummeling the meek dollar into the ground. Paying for a mere panini is a beast here!
- The best thing about France? No sales tax, no tipping. When they say, "This baguette is 50 euro," you pay exactly 50 euro!
- The second best thing about France? The amazing "Le M Burger" at McDonalds.
- Thanks to fellow Columbia student Ben [Elliott], I attended a swanky penthouse party last night held by a magazine called Independent Film Quarterly. The people were festive and the view seemed lifted straight from a calendar page. Also, a middle-aged drunk woman fell on her face.
- Finally, a celebrity sighting: Fellow Columbia student Jon [Mendenhall] and I saw Clint Eastwood at a screening earlier today.
More soon! Au revoir!
C.J. Arellano is a Screenwriting major.
T.J. PETERS writes:
Cannes is one long day ... or at least it feels like it's one day long. Sleep happens sparingly, baguettes replace actual meals, and networking is all conversation.
It's hard to believe that there's still nearly a week left. I mean that from two perspectives. One: We've already been doing this for six days? And two: We're only about halfway through? It's bizarre.
Time has ceased to exist in the constant momentum of the festival. It's sort of like being in a black hole of the film world. Perhaps that sounds like a grim comparison, but it's not meant to be. I think it's quite accurate to say that while in Cannes you're sucked in and time is lost.
And as the remainder of my days here press on I find myself wondering: Once I'm completely pulled in and the festival ends, what's going to be on the other side?
I'm hoping for a development deal.
T.J. Peters is a Screenwriting major.
C.J. ARELLANO writes:
Yeesh!
Day Four of the Cannes Film Festival, and things are getting crazy. Crazy insane. Like, crazy insane good.
On Day One, I attended a premiere screening of Blindness starring Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo and directed by the dude responsible for City of God and The Constant Gardener. I was able to walk the red carpet! Let me just say that I strutted the hell out of that holy tongue of fabric.
Today, I met some producers that were interested in hearing about my scripts. I'm "doing lunch" with them later in the week. I get to do lunch with producers. One of them produced a film called Eating Out that I have a special affection for. Insane! Like, insane good.
Oh, also, last night, I took the wrong bus route and got mega lost. You can probably read about it in three other blog entries, but let me just say that it involved me walking around a commuter bus asking, "Parlez-vous anglais?" over and over again with increasing panic, hitching a ride from a kind motorcyclist (though he ended up being a
trustworthy fellow, I'll admit it was a risky/dangerous thing to do and shouldn't be recommended!), and ended with me seeking refuge in a French firehouse at 1:00 a.m. with three French firemen who didn't speak English.
France!
C.J. Arellano is a Screenwriting major.
JON MENDENHALL writes:
Today started out with an interesting film called Black. It followed a French bank robber who is the only member of the crew to survive a bank heist. He gets a call from his cousin in Africa for a job to steal a large group of diamonds. The rest of the film is a mix of Robert Rodriguez's Once Upon a Time in Mexico and a Guy Ritchie film, with a little voodoo thrown in at the end. The movie wasn't great but the director, Pierre Laffargue, does seem like someone to look out for.
After my shift at the booth, Kelly and I met up with a group for a stunt by the Weinstein Company. This involved putting on T-shirts for their new film Igor and handing out glow sticks to everyone walking around the Croisette. I will hopefully post the video soon from my new FlipCamera.
Jon Mendenhall is a Critical Studies major.
JON MENDENHALL writes:
Today I got a chance to sit in a teleconference with James Cameron and Vince Pace from Avatarr, as well as several producers and directors of new 3D technology for theater and televisions.
For those of you who don't know, 3D technology is making a comeback and Xpand is the company leading the charge. Instead of relying on spectrum separation (red and blue glasses) or polarized lenses (IMAX 3D), they instead alternate the shutters between the eyes to give different images to each eye. The talk was very informative, in terms of the limitations they experienced when filming and in post, as well as the new creative possibilities (specifically variable depths of vision).
I also got a chance to see the film PVC-1. The film was shot as one continuous take. The film involves a mother who has a bomb strapped to her neck, and she's ordered to give 15 million pesos or she dies. The film suffers the same problem as Children of Men. The long takes don't serve to build tension, especially when the family has to move to different locations. It was an amazing technical feat, but the idea of one continuous take seems foreign in my film world.
Like when a magician performs a trick, I try to find the flaws or the secret behind the filming. But it was difficult to find any mistakes here.
Jon Mendenhall is a Critical Studies major.