Cannes Film Festival Survival Guide - Prep, Parties, Receptions & Networking

#cannesfilmfestival #parties #filmpodcast 

This week, I'm excited to chat about the Cannes Film Festival. I want to share all the details to help you navigate the festival smoothly and make the most of your experience. 

I'll talk about the layout, essential preparations, and yes, even the all important parties and receptions. Cannes is a great place to make contacts, connect with fellow filmmakers and set up business for the next 12 months. Let's dive in and explore Cannes together!

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Transcript

0:00

[Music] hi Jim here and you're listening to the honest filmmaker podcast career advice from people in the business so the can film festival is almost upon us I absolutely love can and this is going to be my guide to the camp Film Festival I'm going to give you some tips for attending the festival tell you how the layout works also give you some advice on getting into those all important parties and networking events and generally give you as much info as I can to enable you to get the most out of the Festival so hopefully by now you've already got your accreditation it's a very simple process on the can film festival website uh this accreditation will get you into certain areas within the market and within screenings so you really do need to register in advance for this there are other packages you can do if you miss the registration you can pay for accreditation but obviously if you've got the filmmaker credits on IMDb you can apply for accreditation and get your badge that will get you into the non-public areas first of all things you really need to do before you get to the film festival so the first thing is to really think about what it is you want to get out of can why are you going do you have a film have you got something you're trying to sell have you got a pitch you put together to try and put in front of people race and finance are you just looking to network with other filmmakers are you looking for cast really maybe list out some of those goals that you want to achieve while you're in can because what will then happen is you'll then be able to direct the rest of your energy into making those things happen can's a great place to meet people but you really should be getting those meetings set up before you get to can now the way the festival works is a lot of the business for can is done during that first week that's when a lot of the film sales are made and a lot of the Distributors and sales agents will almost disappear when you get to that second week so if I was going I'd definitely go for the first week of can unless you want to enjoy the whole festival and sort of get more involved in the screenings and events if you want to do the business section you want to be there for the first part um make sure you set up meetings before you go so contact people you think are going to be interested in your project so let's pretend I'm going to can with a feature film that I'm trying to get distribution for or find a sales agent I'd want to set up those meetings well in advance of getting to can because I don't want to be doorstepping people when I get there because they're going to be busy they're going to have other meetings on as well it's worth doing your research before you go so really looking at all of the different sales and distribution companies that are attending can the sort of projects they have because you want to make sure if you are approaching them for a meeting that they would potentially take your project it's the type of thing that they distribute or sell so do your research before you start contacting people so whether you're looking for funding or if you're just trying to get your film distributed or you're looking for a producer or cast what you need is that pitch hack you need a very concise exciting description of what your project is it needs some artwork it needs a vision for the project so an explanation of how exciting it's going to be why it's a great project all these different pieces you put together if you've got cast you want to list those in there if you've got a director writer attached get those things in this pitch pack make it look beautiful make it very short easy to read get it printed off and have it in a folder that you can show somebody and hand them in person to talk through obviously also have an electronic version that you can follow up within email afterwards but having something tangible they can look at and easily understand what your project is about will work wonders now you've got your pitch pack what you need to do now is rehearse your pitch you don't want to be struggling through explaining your project to somebody when they've made time for you to have a meeting to chat about it so I would sit yourself down write out exactly what you want to say and rehearse it and rehearse it and rehearse that pitch until you know it inside out and you can explain it to somebody remember to retain the passion for the project you don't want to sound like a robot but you really do need to know your story inside out so you can explain it and also explain it in the most concise and effective and impactful way that you can so rehearse practice on your friends practice on your family get that pitch going so have this pitch ready have your short version your log line and then have maybe a longer synopsis version where you can get into sort of details of the plot this needs to go hand in hand with your pitch pack and make perfect sense to the person you're explaining it to practicing this pitch to other people will help bring up those questions that are people going to ask you when you're in those meetings so get them to ask questions get them to interrogate the idea so that you've got those questions ready and this is all about not being sensitive with your project not getting embarrassed when you haven't got an answer because testing or other people will enable you to figure those details out and have those answers when you need them obviously the other materials you might want to take is business cards I know people use electronic business cards these days but it's really good to get contact details from people so you can follow up after hand with an email you know that moment when you do network with someone and you ask them oh how's your Festival going and they maybe tell you a little bit about some of the films they've seen or what they're there doing is a good way to remind them of who you are because it might be the thing you talked about so oh hey we chatted about X film that was on um great to connect and then maybe that will lead on to some other development so if you don't know the way that can's laid out is you've got the film festival which takes place in the screening rooms within the pet you've got the film Market which is in the pet which is a lot of little booths uh for all of the sales agents and Distributors which have all the posters for the films that they're selling to international buyers you also have the main hotels along the quette which also have sales and Distributors hosted in them so with your P you can get into those hotels and go up and you know walk along the corridor and go into those rooms and chat to those sales and distribution people you have to remember though that they are there to sell films um or to pick up films so as a filmmaker you're probably quite low on the priority list so cold calling people might not be your best option uh at least sending an email asking if there's a time slot where you could potentially have a chat with somebody from that company is always worth doing in advance because you'll get a sense of how busy they are and whether they've got time to sit down with you you don't want to be a new um you can drop off a screener or send them a link but chances are they're not going to watch it during the festival CU they're going to be too busy so even if you just pop in to say hello and introduce yourself at the appropriate time it's definitely worth getting that FaceTime with them networking so this can go hand inand with partying which I will come to in a moment but the networking aspect is really important you've got your pitch deck you've got your uh awesome rehearsed explanation of what your project about but you do need to deploy that strategically so don't just blur that out to everybody you meet you know you want to keep it casual when you go to these networking events be interested in the other person try and be helpful to the other person and also you might make friends you might make colleagues that you're going to work with uh in the future so it's really worth you know ease off on the sales pitch and just enjoy those networking events and enjoy meeting new people and helping new people so those all important parties now there's lots of different types of parties that you'll experience at can some are a lot harder to get into so for example if there's a film that's got a Premiere that's going to be a tough one to get into unless you have a relationship uh an existing working relationship with somebody who works on that movie and is able to swing tickets for you um but again that's a bit of a tricky one because it's hard to network at an event like that because they're there really to celebrate that film not hear your pitch uh and you talk about yourself so difficult to get into Movie parties now along the quette you've got the international Pavilions for each country now a lot of these Pavilions will have a happy hour so they have it say 5 to 7 every night they'll have a happy hour where it's free drinks and it's a good opportunity to network it's worth going into those um Pavilions at the beginning of the week and just asking do you guys have a happy hour have you got any work at events I'd love to meet people from your country but do consider whether you actually do want to meet people from that country um it might be that you are putting a project together and you haven't considered shooting it in Germany or shooting it in France so when you have that conversation you don't want to just be cold calling going where's the happy hour I want the free booze you want to go there with a purpose and think okay well I can connect with German filmmakers I connect with locations I can connect with crew these might be perfect opportunities to meet people from those countries so do find out about those events because if you haven't got a party to go to in the evening that's a really good place uh especially if you're new to can that's a good place to meet people because it's quite a friendly environment um and you can meet filmmakers from all over the world now some of the countries have bigger parties they have receptions that are hosted at some of the big hotels along the croset these ones you will need to try and contact people in advance of can and when I said earlier about wanting to work with people in those countries you really need to think about do I want to work with somebody from this country or am I just trying to get into their party things change every year but some parties tend to skew younger some parties tend to skew older you'll figure this stuff out as you go but what I'd do is I'd write a very polite email to the person who's in charge of the admin for that party you'll be able to find them online probably on Sando but what you want to make sure is you're polite you're not pushy you're just asking to come along to this event and you need a reason either to network or to meet filmmakers from that country but really be polite and be kind to that person you're connecting with because more than likely they're either a student on experience or an intern or some administrator within that territory or within that company so you want to befriend them chat to them and hopefully they'll take pity on you and inv invite you to that party or they'll see maybe that you've got some value to come to that party now this is a tough one especially us Brits have a habit we get to can we find out how much a beer costs have a mini heart attack and then when we get into a party and the alcohol is free we just go into guzzle mode because we think you know if I pay for this in a bar it's going to cost me about 12 quid I may as well neck as many as I can when I'm here everybody does it but it's really worth slowing down on that and appreciating that you're at that networking event for a reason focus on your goals and what you want to get out of it don't go ballistic on the alcohol as tempting as it might seem you can always go for a drink with your friends after the party at a local bar when you're at those events really think about what you want to get out of them try and keep professional be polite and just see if you can make your way around that party also something you really need to get used to is rejection so you are going to be embarrassed you are going to end up having interactions with people that make you feel awkward and you're going to get rejected so do prepare for that try and stay resilient because it's all part of the process not everyone you meet is going to be interested in your project or even suitable for your project so just get used to it try and accept it as part of the process and part of the experience it's also important to figure out where you are as a filmmaker in the PE in order of can this is how I break it down at the bottom you've got actors now these are actors who' not had a screen credit or if they've had a screen credit it's an IMDb one but they're not a listers b listers c listers they're just working actors slightly above those you've got filmmakers now I say slightly above those you've got filmmakers because filmmakers maybe you've got more reason to be at the festival and chat to sales agents and Distributors because you'll have a project that you're presenting or you're trying to get funded above those you got sales and distribution so there's lots of different sales and Distributors out there the bigger ones are obviously hosting parties for some of the films that are premiering Pan the smaller ones will maybe have a booth or they'll just be wandering the uh pet having meetings with people above that you've got the Press now the Press get a lot better access to screenings and events because they're going to report on it and they're going to generate publicity which is ultimately what the filmmakers want for those movies and above those you've got filmmakers with maybe a little bit more heat on them maybe they have got a film in competition or they've competition before they'll get invited to more screenings premieres and events and then at the very top of the pile you've got your aist Bist cist actors people who are appearing in films that are on a can or people who are a household name people who are recognizable and that other people might want in their movie or at least to come to their party so they can generate some publicity another really valuable thing I get I've can is researching films that are out there at the moment so what you'll see is you'll see these big Temple art housee movies that are screening in the main screens that are in competition uh and then you'll see within the pal a lot of genre movies maybe uh you'll see new trends emerging you'll see new artwork you'll really get to sort of see what's happening and the sorts of films that are coming out soon and lastly the other thing that KS is really good for is inspiration you know you're in this amazing industry you get to meet other people who are so serious about their career that they're actually at the festival they've come all that way from all over the world to be there and to enjoy the films don't forget to watch films while you're there because it's really inspiring and for me it usually acts as a really good creative kick into the next year you've been you've seen all the films you've seen the industry you've met people and it gets you really excited about film making make sure you spend some time reflecting on what you got out of the experience so that if you decide to go again next year you can be even better prepared I hope that was useful please do make sure you subscribe for more hints and tips on film making or to listen to conversations I have with people working in the industry and their tips to help you improve your career[Music]