May is just kicking-off, and once again Stage 32 will be present at the Film Festival in Cannes. Is this your first time attending? Then read on! I am here to take you all through what the festival offers and what to do and expect as a Stage 32 member attending for the first time, as I was last year!

The festival starts on the 14th of May and will end on the 25th of May. So, you'll have 11 days to be around professional filmmakers, sun, ocean, and delicious food. But what should you do to make the most of it?

Start with planning your trip. Are you staying for a few days? Maybe all 11 days? Make it clear what your purpose with your attendance is. I went to Cannes last year, but there were many things I didn’t know anything about, things that I would have liked to know, so I could decide what my goals and wishes for that time were.

If you, like me, just really want to get to some of the screenings, I suggest you start by looking at their website to see what screenings you can attend. However, be aware that you need a pass to be able to get into those screenings. There are some screenings that you can attend without a pass, but buying a pass can give you many more opportunities compared to the free ones. Use this link, to get to the site where you will find useful information about the passes. There are different passes, some that give you access to everything and some that don’t. The online ticket office opened yesterday, on the 6th of May, and you can expect the reservation process to be accessible as of May 10th.

Festival Locations

The film festival has multiple locations for screenings, workshops, parties, etc. When you buy your ticket/pass, and you see the different screenings you can attend, you can see where the screening is held. To make it a bit easier for you, you can click on this link, which takes you to an overview of the festival area.

NOTE: It might be turned around on your device, so maybe download it and rotate it, so it's readable.

Another great opportunity is to go to the Village International. Here you have a bunch of pavilions from different countries who attend the festival, where there will be workshops, Q&A, teaching, mingles and so much more. There are 2 areas. The Riviera is located facing the Palais and on the Croisette. It is very easy to find it because you just have to look for white tents and A LOT of them are directly next to each other. The second one is The Pantiero which is next to the docks at the city's old port! MAKE SURE YOUR BADGE GIVES YOU THE ACCESS TO THIS AREA.

I went to the American pavilion last year to work. There’s free Wi-Fi, a view of the sea, free water, and you can buy snacks and drinks.

Now. The place where the “famous” filmmakers’ attend is The Palais des Festivals et des Congre. Also known as the place where the “red stair is” This is THE PLACE everyone wants to get into, which makes sense because who doesn’t want to sit in the same room as Johnny Depp, Ben Affleck, or Lucas Bravo… I mean I might be young, but I wouldn’t mind bragging to my friends that I got to be in the same room as those people, even though I might sit far away from them… This is also where the photographer is located, so if you are lucky to get in, you might have to smile a bit extra just in case someone takes a photo of you that ends up online.

Dress Code

When it comes to outfits, I suggest you make sure you have some comfortable, lightweight clothes during the day because it can get really hot. Make sure to wear something that sends a signal to the people you are around that you are professional and have class, and they will look at you as a person who knows how to dress for certain occasions. Don't get me wrong, I’m not saying you should wear suits from morning to evening. Make sure you look presentable, but dress yourself like you are. Don't overdress yourself to try and gain things, because it will only hurt yourself, and you want to feel comfortable. (I talk from experience). If you attend the red carpets, and The Palais you will have to wear a tuxedo or a gala dress. Be aware that they can reject letting you in if you don´t match the required outfit for specific events.

Where To Stay

This is a bit tricky because it really depends on your budget. I was staying at an Airbnb within a 12-minute walk from the festival. My assistant/friend and I decided to rent something away from the center of the festival because it gave us more opportunities to spend money on the things that we felt were important. We also liked to sleep in an area where it was quieter because we would be out from 10 am to midnight each day. Sometimes even from 9 am to 1 or 2 am. It depends on what you want to attend. We usually had a break where we could quickly go back to the Airbnb to change outfits at some point during the day or evening. I have to say… if like me, you have to walk in high heels every evening, you might want to take an Uber or stay closer to the festival area. My feet still hurt to this day.

Food & Beverages On The Go

Well, we can't live without food and drinks. Because we were staying at an Airbnb, we chose to purchase some groceries, so we had some food in the apartment to eat in the morning or the evening if we got hungry. We had to budget for at least 1 meal out in Cannes each day, so the groceries were mostly water, soda, and snacks. If you book a hotel, make sure to add breakfast to that, because there are only 4-star and 5-star hotels near the center of the festival and breakfast can be a pricey add-on. We decided to eat some light meals during the day because we had so many things to do, and we didn’t want to feel too full while running around in the heat. We were able to follow that up with a bigger meal in the evening. Make sure you always have some water with you when you are outside, because you will need it! It's also a good idea to have a protein bar, nuts, or something similarly healthy and easy on your person so that you can have a quick snack as needed.

How To Get To Cannes

On the official website, they give you a good guide on how to get to Cannes. You can arrive by a ride plane to Nice, train from Paris, car, or bus depending on where you're traveling from. They also provide you an estimate of the price. We decided to take a taxi to our Airbnb once we arrived, because we flew out so early that we didn’t have any energy to deal with the train. However, when we had to leave Cannes, we took the local train to the Airport, and it was SO easy and cheap! I almost regret paying 100€ for a taxi upon arrival when the train was only 3€... but like the clever people say, “You learn from your mistakes.” I feel better prepared for my next trip!

Expectations

Now, this topic is very important. As first-time attendees last year, we had our expectations set very high. But because everyone gets access online to the booking system, we ultimately didn’t get to attend all of the screenings that we wanted to. We had chosen the “3 days in Cannes” pass. I am not sure how it works with the other badges, but I assume they're similar, the difference being the more you pay for your badge, the more access you gain. Make sure to set yourself a goal. Ask yourself “Why am I going to Cannes?” “What are my goals with this trip?” If you do that, you will most likely be able to plan your time more strategically and leave feeling productive and successful. It also depends on your budget. We ended up spending 50% more than what our original budget was. We didn’t have a limit per se on what we could spend, but we still made a target budget ahead of time so that we would hopefully have extra money left over. But, as I'm sure you can intuit, we didn’t necessarily succeed.

Stage 32

Stage 32 will be at the Film Festival in Cannes as an official education partner of the Cannes Marche du Film for over 8 years. If you wish to join in on their events, panels, parties, etc. you can find useful information HERE.

We went to one party with Stage 32 last year and it was an absolute SUCCESS. You won't want to miss out on that this year!

To learn more about Cannes, you can also find Stage 32's recent FREE webinar, How to Navigate the Cannes Film Festival Marche du Film taught by the Executive Director at Marché du Film of the Festival de Cannes, Guillaume Esmiol! In this webinar, which is still available for you on demand HERE, Guillaume talks about the festival, how to successfully navigate it, and how to make your Cannes experience work for you.

Make sure to post pictures on your social media and tag @stage32. – Make sure also to follow @stage32 & @rbwalksintoabar on Instagram so that you can catch all of their updates and announcements that they'll make live from the festival! You will easily get to know more about Cannes and Stage 32's involvement by following along while you're there.

I hope that this helped you have a better grasp on what to prepare ahead of attending the festival. And I hope you have a blast! I wish I could join again this year, but other projects are calling!

Let's hear your thoughts in the comments below!

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