Yesterday was far less of a trial than Tuesday. Since I had no meetings until the evening, I spent the morning on the surprisingly-deserted beach, before strolling leisurely along the coast to Cannes.
During the festival, the town is packed with industry professionals and film fans alike (and presumably some actual residents somewhere, although if I were them I’d be off like a shot come festival time). Traversing small distances, particularly around the Palais du Festivals, can take quite some time, what with the crowds and all the barriers that are up around the red carpet. I passed many people holding signs saying “Un billet pour Robin Hood S.V.P.” – wanting a ticket to the opening night premiere.
After picking up my badge I took a walk around the festival site to re-acquaint myself with the layout, before meeting Carl and his students for dinner. Over pizza I explained what I got up to on my last visit to Cannes (see the Soul Searcher blog for 2005 if you’re interested) and we discussed the merits of going freelance after university.
I risked the bus system to get back to the hotel, and it worked out well, although it was pretty packed because of a sudden shower.
Today we have our first proper meetings.
And if textual descriptions don’t float your boat, you can follow my Cannes video blog on YouTube, and the iTunes podcast feed too.