Cannes Film Festival, 19 Mai 2007

If you're wondering what all the rage was at Cannes this year, let us put your minds at ease: it'll be coming to Australia on a Sydney-wide tour in July. Yes, just like Amelie and Jean Reno, we'll be following the old touring route ourselves in the near future, straight from the red carpet to the Opera House steps.

Off the record, though, we did actually go to Cannes to see the festival, and it was pretty cool actually. Like watching big (rich) brother for the first time.

Going on a busload of other (American) students to the Cote d'Azur was tempting both as a good opportunity to see the festival and to go to the beach. It's not mild, the hot weather in Provence.

Following a little dip, wee jumpe dinto our catwalk best and strutted down the Croisette to see what could be seen. We'd been to Cannes before, but didn't recognise it. Everything was closed off to private invitation only parties and screenings. It was like a circus, with all the tents, and people (ok, us) acting like kids keen to see the lions.

We got to the red carpet and set up shop in a pretty good spot to see the action for the first movie screening of the evening. The main event happens in the big function centre on the beach, which is where the red carpet is, and for about 2 hours, about everyone in the city.

Outside the entrance for the non-carpet (yet) invitees, there are a good 8 or 9 people dressed in tuxes and cocktail dresses, holding signs asking to buy unwanted tickets. They were so optimistic that they stood against the flow of people throughout the whole carpet ceremony until the last people had gone in, then drifted off to fix their makeup for the next round.

While we were there, we saw: a very famous Chinese actress, and a very very famous Japanese actress (apparently), lots of famous French actors (apparently) lots of has-been actresses (definitely), and some other barely-mentionnables like Leo diCapri and the Cohen Brothers.

Great photo, eh?

You should see the opposition I was up agianst.

The crowd was a little crazy. I guess that's why the French call them foules.

The paparazzi were great. So relieving to see that they at least live up to their reputation.

It wasn't only the visitors who got all dressed up: the cops put on their ballgowns and makeup too. A special festival uniform.

We found a little time before leaving to do a bit of independant star-spotting

And then it was time to go (our minders said), so we reluctantly posed for one last photo before jumping into our chauffeured car for the dreary grind of our day to day dawdle.