Cannes Journal: Thursday

Thursday morning we had breakfast at Pastis. Eric, Sonia, and Renee arrived and we had the run of the restaurant. After eating, Kit and Cherry went to the Grand Hotel for meetings. Eric, Sonia, Renee, and I went to the Marche to try to get tickets to showings. They got tickets to the Wim Wenders film that afternoon and for an 8:30 am screening of Hou Hsiao-Hsien. Eric and Sonia left to check out the short film market and Sonia and I went to get drinks at the cafe.

Sitting down, I ran into Courtney. She told me about the party she and Jean had gone to the night before on Paul Allen's yacht. She said it was amazingly lavish. The yacht sported eight decks and two heli-pads. I said I had tried to call Jean, and she said she was still asleep. Courtney was awake to catch a friend's film.

Eric and Sonia returned to get Renee. They had to change for the Wim Wenders screening. Courtney got up to attend her screening. I called Jean and we arranged to meet for lunch at the Hotel Martinez, where Kit and Cherry were scheduled to have a meeting at two. I texed Cherry to let her know I was heading to the hotel and left the Marche to walk along the Croisette.

At the Martinez, I secured a table on the terasse. Kit and Cherry arrived and we ordered lunch. Jean arrived with Megumi and told me they had made reservations at the beach restaurant. We ate and chatted until two when Cherry called Stanley in his hotel room. He said he'd be right down. Kit and Cherry bolted the rest of their food and went to find a table at the bar. I accompanied Jean and Megumi to the beach restaurant.

We sat by the Mediterranean in the shade of large beach umbrellas. They arranged for lounge chairs on the dock to sun themselves later in the afternoon. We drank and talked about how easy it would be to get used to this lifestyle. Jean told me more stories about the yacht party they had attended.

At three I went back up to the hotel bar to check on Kit. They were still in their meeting. I sat in the lobby and waited. At three-thirty I texted Cherry. Kit had a press conference at four back at the Palais. Soon I saw them come through the lobby. They introduced me to Stanley and we shook hands before parting and walking back to the Festival.

We took an elevator up to the fifth floor to a small cafe tucked away behind the main theaters. The short film directors had collected, and the Festival TV set up their cameras to do one on one interviews with the filmmakers. A small bar served champagne. Eric, Sonia, and Renee appeared and we milled about and chatted with the other directors. When Kit's turn came up, she came away slightly frustrated as there was no English translator for the interviewer. And while Kit's French was at a conversational level, she couldn't describe the nuances of her film in French. Another director, on hearing Kit's plight, kindly offered to translate for the other directors.

We hung out a bit longer, chatting with Elise and Johanna (the press person for the short films) and finishing our champagne. And then it was time to go back to the hotel to pick up John, who had just arrived, and to change.

That night John and I accompanied Cherry and Kit to the Carlton Hotel. They were invited to a dinner honoring the short film directors who were in competition or who were selected for the Cinefoundation. John and I chose a nearby restaurant in which to eat along the Croisette. We watched people walk by, dressed in evening-wear or in jeans and t-shirts. Cars crawled along the road, and we noticed Ferraris and Bentleys mixed in with the rest. Eric, Sonia, and Renee passed by and I called out to them. We made arrangements to meet later to attend a short film corner party at the Plage des Palmes. Jean and Megumi stopped by so that I could pass Jean a dvd of Kit's short. They were headed back home. At around 11, Stevie called to tell me I could come to the Taiwan Film Commission party. By the time I arrived, Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Shu Qi had long gone, and Michi and her friends were leaving.

I walked with Michi back towards the Palais when Cherry called. They were done with dinner and were heading back to the theater for the technical rehearsal. I called Eric and arranged to meet up with him by the Palais. The rehearsal looked and sounded beautiful. Kit's fears were allayed. And then they went to a Competition party.

Eric and I walked back to a cafe to meet up with John, Sonia, and Renee. I had a noisette before we left for the Short Film Corner party. We walked behind the festival buildings and to the Plage des Palmes. The bouncers looked at our badges and waved us in. A woman was handing out ice cream cones, and Kit Kats filled large glass jars scattered around the entrance. Wrappers dotted the tables. The party was drawing to a close. We found a couch on the beach and sat down, drinking water and eating chocolate. Waves lapped the sand, and behind us we could see the hotel lights stretching down the Croisette.

A man came to our table and excused himself. He leaned towards the candle as if to light a cigarette but blew it out. The party was over. We didn't think it was so late until someone looked at his watch. "It's two in the morning," he said. We finished our chocolate and got to our feet. One by one the candles were being blow out. At the entrance, we stopped for a picture by a blue mosaic of the palm leaf that represents Cannes before parting and making our separate ways back to our hotels. Posted by eku at May 28, 2005 1:31 PM