Open an email — rejection. Click open another email — another rejection, but, you know, thanks for applying. Yet another response — score! An invitation to Cannes. While thousands of aspiring filmmakers apply to see their film screened at festivals, few receive the opportunity; fewer still at one of the world’s most notable venues.
Last year, my son Brett Fleisher and I produced a nine-minute comedy noir that Brett wrote and acted in. Bed-Stuy Lullaby follows Brett during an ill-fated Brooklyn night. His goal — to get a good night’s sleep to be fresh for a morning audition with Emma Stone. What was preventing him? Loud music coming from his crack addict neighbor. Brett tries every trick in his arsenal to get to sleep, only to find the unexpected.
This little film’s first festival acceptance was to no less than the prestigious Cannes Film Festival Short Corner .
The Short Corner accepts 1,900 short films from 88 counties and generously provides two sets of festival credentials for each film. These passes entitle the filmmakers to participate in workshops, mingle with other budding filmmakers from all over the world, watch the premieres and films in competition, and have access the Film Market to potentially sell the film.
What was my first reaction? Whoa, we’re going to the French Riviera! My second thought: Whoa, this trip will cost more than the film! But, it’ll be worth it, right?
Lots of arrangements: flights, housing, gowns, black tie attire, brush up on French lessons, larger luggage, electrical outlet adapters. To keep costs down, Brett and I searched for a one-bedroom apartment — living room for him, bedroom for me. Searching VRBO and the European equivalents for vacation rentals, we found a cute rental called Cinema Apartment in the Old Port area right by the festival. After two trips to the bank to wire funds, I had no absolute proof that the apartment would actually be available when we arrived. We had to wait six weeks to find out. Fortunately, there it was when we arrived after 20 hours of travel.
The Cannes Film Festival is just as glamorous as all the photos promise. The centerpiece is the Palais des Festivals, which features a 2,200-seat theater graced with the infamous super-wide, super-long red carpet. Every attendee of a premiere film walks the red carpet, as long as you dress the part: gowns for women, black tie attire for men. For at least six rainy nights, I juggled an umbrella and the train of the my gown. On our first trip down the carpet, even though Brett was handsomely dressed in a black suit and tie, he was pulled out of line and sold a bow tie for 14 euros or he would be barred from entry. He finally caught up to a befuddled me at the top of the red carpet.
Brett on the paparazzi side of the red carpet
In contrast to the expansive and opulent showings in the large theater, short films are permitted one screening in a small private screening room. Watching our short film on a large-ish screen with a real sound system instead of on a computer screen with tinny speakers was one of my festival highlights. And even better, when we showed our film in the screening room, our little audience howled with laughter. Another score!
Harvey Weinstein and Tim Burton
Mingling with the other producers and directors who participated in the Short Corner was simultaneously inspiring yet intimating There are a lot of filmmakers out there! Many independent filmmakers have started out with shorts, so its great to know that Brett is on the right track. As part of the 2013 festival, Harvey Weinstein and Tim Burton teamed up with Lexus to provide five directors the opportunity to create big budget shorts. With budgets of $300,000 – $700,000 each, the project resulting in five gorgeous short films. I wanted to say, “Throw just a fraction of that money our way, Harvey!”
Empty seats are hard to find at the more popular film screenings, so you always need a plan B. That plan is often a party hosted by event sponsors or PR firms of films showing at the festival. While most parties require an invite, one invite often leads to another, and often simply dressing in black tie attire will gain you entrance to a party if you put your best foot forward. These gala events can be found within the gorgeous hotels along the Promenade de la Croissette Boulevard lining the beachfront or beneath tents covering the beach clubs on the water side of the street. On the west side of the Palais there is a port lined with no fewer than 40 extravagant yachts, also hosting parties. The wheeling and dealing of film buying and selling goes down late at night on these yachts, in the hotels, and in private villas.
Brett emerging from Little Door
If a party invite did not manifest, sidewalk cafes provide an open invitation. Too numerous to count and without knowing the French version of Yelp, it is easy to scroll the boulevard and parallel streets and just select one. Sometimes, we were seated next to festivalgoers for networking over coffee and croissants, but mostly the cafes were filled with French speakers. The salads and Heineken (the most common beer) were delicious, as is most all food in this region of France. Our favorite bistro was called the Little Next Door and had an adorable five-foot-tall bathroom tucked in the corner.
We came away with an urgency to complete a feature film for next year’s festival. Full-length narratives are easier to sell than short films. Brett is currently developing a Hangover-type feature film and producing another short he has written. Any interested producers out there??
Birthday, rainbow, Cannes!
What I Miss after Cannes
An excuse to dress up every day.
Seeing Brett in a suit every day as well.
Chocolate croissants.
Not being able to use my phone – what a relief!
Yacht parties.
Random encounters in Europe.
Living on classy cobble-stone café-lined old town Rue St. Antoine.
Fresh greens and, oh, the cheeses!
Beautiful Mediterranean architecture.
What I Won’t Miss
Walking in the rain wearing a gown with a train.
Wearing a badge everywhere.
Trying to get into movies and getting denied much of the time.
Not having a 220 volt straightening iron for my hair.
1.30 euro conversion rate.
Karen Henry is an Associate Editor at LA YOGA who volunteers in a variety of capacities for nonprofit organizations and artists around Los Angeles. She practices yoga as a counterbalance to her daily impact sports and is a mother of four grown children who also practice yoga . Now, she’s working on teaching yoga and joy of life to the grandkids!