Festival Day #1 - A Recap...

Begging, begging everywhere --- and not a ticket to snatch.

I arrived in Cannes in the late afternoon/early evening hours just about the time all of our students donned their fancy wear and sharpied some signs requesting "1 Invitation S.V.P." for the premiere of Woody Allen's "Midnight In Paris" set to begin in a couple hours. Scoring a ticket to this opening film is extra special because not only does one attend the screening of the movie, but you also get the added benefit of experiencing the Opening Ceremonies to officially kick off the Festival. The 2011 Jury, headed by De Niro, sits on stage in front of the crowd, says a few words, and gets things underway. This year I even saw that Jamie Cullum did a surprise performance onstage during the ceremony.

As usual, about half of our students got in to the opening ceremony and subsequent screening of the opening premiere that directly follows. 50% sounds like great odds, especially when we have 26 students dressed to the nines begging for tix - however, try explaining that to the half of the group who DON'T receive tickets. Their outlook on the process and its (temporarily) unfavorable results is pretty grim at this point, so it takes a lot to try and put a positive spin on it for them. I try my darndest, though.

Take, for example, Bobby - shown below. The sting of rejection was extra harsh when he didn't get a ticket into the premiere screening because it was also his birthday. He even mentioned this fact - in French, I might add - on his sign. Unfortunately, none of the wealthy cougars bought it thus Bobby was left to sulk at the American Pavilion. Pauvre, Bobby.

But wait! There is a second screening at 10:30pm that re-shows the opening film. Sure, this screening is absent of all the pomp and circumstance of the earlier screening as it lacks the presence of Woody Allen, Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Adrien Brody, Robert DeNiro, Uma Thurman, Jude Law (okay, you get the picture) - but the red carpet is still there, right?! So I convince the students to pick their heads up, turn their smiles upside down, grab a bite, hell - imbibe a little - then come back at 10pm and beg for the later screening like you mean it.

During this layover period when we all put out of our minds what is happening inside the Grand Lumiere Theatre while we are left outside, I head down the Croisette towards the harbor to the famous, Caffe Roma. This haunch frequently hosts my hungry taste buds during the Festival. Usually, I am accompanied by Sophie (the program director's daughter) and this time is no different. Sophie landed in France mere hours ago. She just stood in the registration line to get her badge while the red carpet chaos occurred, so she was accredited and hungry for some familiar Cannes foods. We sit at a table along the exterior of the giant covered patio dining on pizza and french fries (Sophie's choice).

A quartet delights us with jazzy old tunes throughout our meal - check out the guy on the oboe (?) - he was killing it!

After dinner, everyone returns to their respective posts trickled along the pavements around the Palais. And, darn it, if every single one of those kids who didn't get into the early premiere (+ me) didn't nab a ticket for the late showing. We were golden!

Happily we marched up to the red carpet, shiny tickets in hand, and worked that thing like it was our job. I HAD to get a photo of me and my brother, Alex, a transient student in this year's program. After all, this is his first Cannes red carpet (and certainly not the last) - the memory had to be captured photographically. I mean, come on...two Beavers, one red carpet?! Definitely worth taking the time to pose.

Two hours after walking the red carpet and six hours after delving into their first go of 'begging', the second half of our students had experienced night one of Cannes in all its glory. It may not have been what they expected and they may even have hated the Woody Allen movie, but there's no denying these kids were hopped up on adrenaline, finally having reveled in the sweet feeling of success. I snapped the photo below at the taxi stand just after the screening --- those smiles don't lie.

Day/Night One at the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival = Complete. And Bobby's birthday was finally a happy one.