Many dangers lurk
Hotel staff protest in Cannes
The 76th Cannes Film Festival took place from May 16 to 27 in the coastal city of Cannes, France. Before the opening day, the Western press predicted that this year's Cannes Film Festival would have an extremely grand opening compared to previous years.
However, the opening ceremony was not as expected by many. “Cannes Film Festival 2023 is a sanctuary of art and purely art, without scandals or private noise,” said Thierry Frémaux, director of the festival, after the public was somewhat surprised by what happened not as they expected.
In 2014, the public had the opportunity to enjoy the scene of the film crew of "The Expendables" 3 stirring up a peaceful street when using tanks as a means of transportation to the press conference.
Or like last year, the opening day also witnessed the grand welcome of Tom Cruise to the premiere of “Top Gun: Maverick” by the French Air Force's Patrouille de France aerobatic team.
Johnny Depp was surrounded by fans when he appeared at the Opening Ceremony of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival
This year, the focus of the opening day was Johnny Depp's return after a long-running lawsuit with his ex-wife, actress Amber Heard.
Allegations of domestic violence have cost Johnny Depp many film contracts and caused him to be ostracized in Hollywood. But at Cannes, Depp was warmly welcomed.
However, the unrest in Cannes this year is not the opening ceremony being a “flop”, but the impact of the strikes that have not ended.
Most recently, on May 19, many hotel workers in France protested at the 5-star Carlton Hotel, a few blocks from the Cannes Film Festival, to draw public attention to their difficult working conditions.
“The French create the glamour and glamour of Cannes, but behind it all the hotel, cafe and especially restaurant staff are underpaid and have terrible working conditions. When you go on holiday, you only see the good side of things,” Dominique Chave, a representative of the French General Confederation of Labour (CGT), told Reuters.
CGT members of the film industry even threatened to cut off the electricity at the Cannes Film Festival as part of a protest against President Macron's reforms.
There are also reports that the CGT is still preparing a major protest on May 21 (local time), but it will take place along the Boulevard Carnot, away from the Croisette and away from the festival headquarters.
In this context, the Cannes city government has imposed a ban to prevent possible unrest in the Cannes Film Festival area.
The government also met with representatives of several organizations to announce the ban, as well as indicate which areas are allowed to host large gatherings.
In addition, 1,000 police, gendarmes and private security personnel were mobilized to tighten security throughout the day of the event.
In another development, the Cannes Film Festival is also facing instability when 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) have been on strike for several weeks. Although not directly occurring in France, this strike has also caused difficulties in the market for buying and selling scripts and film projects - a traditional activity at the Cannes Film Festival.
“The Cannes Film Festival is not only an event to introduce and promote the latest films, it is also a market for companies to buy scripts and sell completed films. Industry insiders wonder how the strike will affect this business deal,” Variety magazine expressed skepticism.
Some industry insiders say the strike could drive up prices for films that have already been shot or scripts that have just been completed, as studios and streaming services continue to need films to keep them rolling out.
Expecting a "god-sent" gift
This year's poster features Catherine Deneuve in the 1968 film "La Chamade" (Heartbeat).
Despite the uncertainties surrounding the Cannes Film Festival, business people along the French Riviera are excited that the opportunity to "make a fortune" has returned, after two years of difficulties due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The French newspaper Public commented that the attraction of the Cannes Film Festival is not only the luxury of dresses, jewelry on the red carpet, and attractive films, but the event also brings about a boom in local tourism. The locals here often call it a "god-sent" gift.
Currently, there are no specific statistics on the contribution of the Cannes Film Festival to the film industry. However, according to estimates, the 2019 Cannes Film Festival (before the Covid-19 pandemic) helped the French Riviera town - where the event took place - earn 196 million euros.
That year, the event attracted 125,000 guests and 12,000 film professionals, more than 90,000 overnight stays and created 2,200 jobs during the event.
According to statistics from RCF (France), the number of tourists to Cannes increases 3 times during each Film Festival season, along with the revenue from services such as restaurants, cafes, yachts, bars, etc. increasing rapidly.
This year, People World predicts that 341 million euros will be the revenue for the 12 days of the festival, with the rental bill for luxury villas in Cannes being up to 400,000 euros for just 2 weeks.
At this time, the restaurants Le Jasmin, Rue des Belges, Laurent have stocked up on large quantities of goods. The restaurant manager revealed to RCF: “We have tripled our stock. We have more customers and this opportunity only lasts for a week.”
According to this person, the Cannes Film Festival accounts for more than 50% of the restaurant's revenue and the preparation plan was made a year ago.
Contrary to the expectations of those who work in the "follow-up" service on the Riviera, inflation is a factor that directly affects the film industry when it comes here.
According to Variety, dozens of films are available for purchase at Cannes at sky-high prices, but the number of film studios that agree to pay to own them is not much.
“The domestic distributors in the US are struggling,” said Pia Patatian, president of Arclight Films. “They’re not buying as many films as they used to. In Berlin, they used to buy 10 or 15 films, but now it’s less than five.
All buyers complain about the prices, but you can't imagine how prices are skyrocketing everywhere.
Actors receive higher salaries, film production costs are more expensive during the pandemic. Therefore, the value of a film is now more expensive than ever.
Record at Cannes Film Festival
There are 52 world-class films premiering at Cannes 2023, 21 films competing for the Palme d'Or, of which 6 are directed by women (32%). This is an unprecedented record in Cannes history.
L'officiel assessed that the biggest change of this year's awards season is the increase in diversity, with many films from Mongolia on the nomination list.
Senegal, Iran and North Africa.
IndieWire also commented that among the films competing for the Palme d’Or, it is clear that two generations of directors are behind the quality works. That is the generation of filmmakers who have been around for decades (Ken Loach, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Wim Wenders…) and the younger generation, “capable of breaking the Palme d’Or race this year” including:
Ramata Toulaye-Sy, Wang Bing...
Source
Comment (0)