Playing dressup

As I have stated in a previous entry, thousands of tourists descend upon the small city of Cannes at this time every year, hoping for a glimpse into the world of the rich and famous. They walk along the Croisette, eating gelato, and peer into the cool magnificent windows of shops like Chanel and Gucci. Or else they stand behind the blockades at the Palais des Festivals, hoping for a glimpse of their favorite movie star. A few lucky ones stand in line, hoping to get tickets for daytime viewings of the movies.

Well, I was one of the lucky ones the other night; my sister and I got tickets to see one of the film festival movies. And it wasn't even one of the skimpy daytime showings; this was a main event, an evening premiere of a movie that is in competition for the Palme d'Or. So with fingers crossed that our normal dresses would pass the bar, we headed off for our own few seconds of fame.

My ticket to the show! As stated, formal dress was the dress code, but obviously we don't own any evening gowns. So
our regular dresses would have to do... we hoped!

Here's the crowd of fans and paparazzi, viewed from the other side. The 'main' members of the media were located
right on the red carpet itself, and they all had to dress in tuxedos as well! 

Here I am, giving my best 'nonchalant movie star' impression, with the entrance and
red carpet behind me.

On top of the stairs of the theater, looking back at the red carpet. It was difficult to actually take a picture while
walking the carpet; it's actually technically not allowed. The large crane on the right holds a camera on its end,
and swivels back and forth, capturing footage of all the important people (ie. NOT me).

An admittedly terrible shot of the theater. We sat on a balcony level, high above where
the actual stars of the movie sat down below. It was still neat to see them in person,
and obviously emotional about their movie being screened.

Many of the movies shown at Cannes are in different foreign languages. Everything not in French is subtitled in French... which doesn't help me much. So we were rather lucky to have gotten tickets for a British-American movie. The movie, called "Loving", is a semi-biographical film about an interracial couple living in Virginia back in the 1960s who were jailed for being married. It was a quiet, affecting film, and one that makes a person think about how some issues are still prevalent today.

I had a wonderful time at the festival; definitely a unique experience that I'm glad to have experienced during my year in France!