Cannes or Bust!

Cannes hotel review: les Strelitzias, Juan-les-Pins

2009-06-12T17:10:00.006+02:00

When prices get too steep inside Cannes itself, savvy travellers head east or west for better deals. On the eastern side, you have two towns with plenty of accommodation: Antibes and Juan-les-Pins.

The 3-star Strelitizias Hotel is located behind a leafy park in Juan-les-Pins, just off the Boulevard Raymond Poincaré. We paid a special rate of just €90 for a two people, although the average rate of about €120 is still good value. The building is smart, with palm trees and a fountain out front. The reception is just off the large dining and breakfast room. The staff were helpful, speaking French and English where necessary.

The real surprise came in the room, which featured a small corridor with closets that led to a large bright bedroom. In our case, we had a view of the park, which was fine, although the sound of traffic was very clear when the windows were opened. Overall, the room was very comfortable with a feeble WiFi connection that was enough to check e-mail, etc. We skipped breakfast, which was pricy, as I also prefer grabbing breakfast over the market dailies inside the Palais each morning.

People that stay outside Cannes wonder about getting back at night. Les Strelitzias is about a 10-minute walk to the railway station of Juan-les-Pins, which lies on routes 03a ad 04r. During the day, there are trains roughly every 20 minutes. But it’s worth picking up a timetable in the station to make sure you allow enough time. Getting to the Palais from Cannes station takes about 10 minutes. The last train back to Juan-les-Pins is currently just before midnight.

What’s more, the hotel can be reached straight from Nice airport by bus n° 200, which continues on to Cannes. This is a great deal if you get in after 8pm and baulk at the idea of paying €90 or more for a taxi. Two downsides: it's hard to know where to get off and this is the local bus. So it takes well over an hour to get to Juan-les-Pins. A timetable can be found at reception. Ask about the availability of night buses to and from Cannes.

OVERALL: If you’re willing to travel in the morning, Les Strelitzias is warmly recommended for a comfortable stay. In case you are wondering, a strelitiza is a South American flower (my first guess was an Austrian count).

MIDEM announces dates, offers MidemNet for free

2009-06-10T15:01:00.004+02:00

MIDEM, the leading international music market, today announced the dates for the 44th edition with a major announcement. Recognising the degree to which digital is now an integral part of the music business at every level, it is offering access to the renowned MidemNet conferences to all participants.

This is a major innovation, as access to MidemNet required a separate entrance fee. It has been sold out for a number of years each time, with labels and telcos congregating to discover ways of monetising digital and networking. Speakers have included Nokia, YouTube, Google and many others.

Other innovations at MIDEM include a MidemNet Lab in the heart of the tradefloor that will showcase 15 of the most innovative companies in the digital sphere.

MIDEM and MidemNet will be held between January 23 and 27, 2010. Don't miss the early bird rate. Follow us on Twitter to be kept up to date.

Hotels for Cannes Lions 2009 selling out

2009-05-21T15:29:00.004+02:00

The Cannes Lions has to be one of the most expensive events in Cannes, with the entrance fee of $3500 being the biggest chunk. After also spending to enter some work in one of the categories, it might be an idea to go easy on the hotels. We have good and bad news. First the good news: there are still reasonable deals to be had. The bad news is that it would be best to book your hotel now.

Our advice for people feeling the pinch is obviously to leave the major hotels on the Croisette to people that are not paying their own way. What does that leave you with? Well, the very best deals are to be had in Cannes La Bocca and Golfe Juan/Juan-les-Pins. Both are easy to reach by bus (20 minutes) or train (about 7 minutes!) and have a range of 1-4 star hotels at much better rates.

We recently stayed at Les Strelitzias, a 3-star with large rooms for under €90 for two per night. Admittedly, this was a super-duper budget deal (current rate at just over €100 is still a good deal). Another option is to share with three to four people in the many "résidences", or self-catering apartments. Most are not exactly luxury. But you'll be spending all your time in town anyway, so who cares? We've stayed at Villa Francia and Cannes Beach (both in La Bocca) and have heard good things about France Résidence (Juan-les-Pins). Check this link for good hotel deals for Cannes Lions.

For specific questions, leave a comment.

Movie industry ignores big issue at Cannes

2009-05-20T17:41:00.005+02:00

Attending the Cannes film market 2009 was rather like attending the Midem music trade fair around the year 2000. Although the market is suffering from a serious funding problem, the single major issue is not being addressed. Nine years ago, major label music executives had heard about MP3 files and basically chose a combination of either of three options: 1) ignore them; 2) try to create a proprietary system to sell music online; and/or 3) sue the people with brighter ideas.

Cannes 2009 was amazing for the lack of serious discussion about online distribution. It is happening already without the industry, through bit torrent sites. So why aren't the major studios making more movies available? Why aren't distributors already aggressively promoting download sites? Why aren't the indies clubbing together to manage their rights while there are still opportunities in the market? Why aren't entrepreneurs being brought in to try out some new ways of spreading movies across the web?

Instead of that, I heard lots of in-fighting between producers, distributors and theatre chains about just about everything but the Internet. It's the elephant in the living room no one is talking about. Too many years of easy funding has perhaps dulled their sense of urgency. By the time they decide to react, it will be too late. Just like the majors in the music industry, they will wake up to a situation where the audience will decide for them.

To those that say, "Yes, but the rights issues are complicated. It takes time", I reply that this is true. So why didn't they start ten years ago when it was obvious which way the wind was blowing?

French writers invade the market

2009-05-13T08:45:00.004+02:00

The UGS must be one of the world's best writer's unions. Each year they rent a villa for scriptwriters to be able to attend the festival, and accompany them with a whole series of events. This year again, they will be running their "Marché du Scénario" (script market), a structured database of available scripts in French that is run in parallel with breakfast meetings with producers and directors every morning. A "white night" script reading session is also being run. For details, visit Journée du Scénario.

UK Film Council events at Cannes

2009-05-11T17:03:00.003+02:00

The UK Film Council will again host a brilliant selection of talks and events, tying in with the number of British films being shown at Cannes this year. Highlights include: directors Stephen Frears and Paul King in conversation; the future of distribution and digital; the financing and development of "Waiting for Eric"; how to move from shorts to features; and advice on funding 25% or budget or more using Irish and UK tax incentives.

UPDATE: You'll find fuller details on the UK Film Centre.

Staying connected during the festival and market

2009-05-11T10:21:00.004+02:00

Attending a trade fair without e-mail access is pretty much unthinkable these days. It's only a few years back that I had to run to a cybercafe near the railway station to check mail, burn CDs (yes, CDs) and print documents (using the wrong keyboard). In fact, my first time in Cannes I didn't even have a mobile phone (this is going back a bit). Imagine the fun of re-scheduling appointments.

We often get questions about mobile phones and WiFi. To simplify, if you're from Europe and are staying just a few days, it's probably simpler just to keep your number and pay the roaming fees. If you're from outside of Europe and/or staying for the whole festival, you could save money by renting a local number. If you are organising anything, such as a screening or reception, I recommend a local number as you will spend half your time on the phone.

The good news is that your entrance fee to the film market gives you 6 hours of free WiFi access. The bad news is that if you go over that or don't have a market accreditation, you will pay €15 per day.

So I recommend preparing all e-mails offline and not get carried away using Twitter! The other alternative is to save all connections until you are in your hotel.

I have a French fan or two

2009-05-09T18:24:00.000+02:00

It's not ALL parties, you know

2009-04-30T17:19:00.003+02:00

I was glad to see the article in today's Times, entitled "Make a hit festival? Yes, we Cannes". I'll sum it up with one quote: "It’s not about hanging out on the beach with a glass of champagne,” [says] Clare Binns, programming director of City Screen, the UK’s largest independent film exhibitor. “It’s like a military operation. You have a meeting at the crack of dawn, you decide what films you’re going to, what lunches, what events, and then you’re off, from 6am till 2am. Without doubt, it’s the hardest I work all year.”

Personally, the parties I have been to are rarely what they look like in the photos. Many of the people wear faces that say, "Drat, I should have accepted the invitation to that other party". There's always a rumour that Marty, Clint, Francis or whoever (the major players only need first names) will turn up. They rarely do - or only for 15 minutes of flashing cameras. Personally, I think they use their PAs to ensure they can all meet in the backroom of a restaurant and do some serious networking or a game of bridge without the hassle of the big parties.

I often use the word "slog" or "schlep", as you'll do a lot of it at Cannes, running from a flat down the Croisette to a meeting in the Palais to lunch near the station to the hotel to change shirt to a screening (that you rarely manage to see in full) to another meeting somewhere down the Croisette in a bar your correspondent has difficulty describing to you by phone.

So for one of the most accurate accounts of attending Cannes for business, check The Times.

Cannes 2009 festival selection announced

2009-04-23T13:19:00.003+02:00

The selection of films vying for the coveted Palme d'Or for the 62nd Cannes Film festival:

Ken Loach - Looking for Eric (UK)
Lars von Trier - Anti-Christ (DK)
Pedro Almodovar - Broken Embraces (ES)
Michael Haneke - Le ruban blanc - The White Tape (AT)
Marco Bellocchio - Vincere (IT)
Isabel Coixet - Map of the Sound of Tokio (SP)
Brillante Mendoza - Kinakay (PH)
Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds(US)
Ang Lee - Taking Woodstock (US)
Jane Campion - Bright Star (AU)
Tsai Ming-liang - Faces (TW)
Johnnie To – Vengeance (HK)
Elia Suleiman - The Time That Remains (PS)
Xavier Giannoli - A l'origine (FR)
Andrea Arnold - Fish tank (UK)
Alain Resnais - Les herbes folles (FR)
Jacques Audiard - Un prophète (FR)
Lou Ye - Spring fever (CN)
Gaspar Noé - Soudain le vide (FR)

Mobile roaming prices down - but not until July

2009-04-23T09:53:00.002+02:00

In a move that will be welcomed by both European and other travellers, Euro MPs have voted to enforce lower roaming fees across mobile services. The cap for a "roaming" text will fall to 11 euro cents (10p; 14 US cents), from an average of about 29 cents today. But the bad news is that visitors to the Cannes festival won't be able to benefit from them. The EU-wide caps will take effect in July. They cover text messages and data roaming services, such as checking e-mails while abroad.

Will mobile coverage blossom at Cannes this year?

2009-04-20T17:37:00.006+02:00

For about three years, I have been meaning to start blogging from my mobile phone. But I always wondered who would be interested. Although the capabilities are there, is there anyone out there really interested in reading what would be very short messages? Since then, of course, Twitter had made its appearance and seriously changed the way people communicate breaking news (or opinions). And I'm still not sure Tweeting from Cannes is of any real interest to anyone other than the sender ("Look, I was there" - the irony being that I could send the message from the bottom of my garden and no one would notice the difference).

Co-produced by Orange and CANAL+, TV Festival will broadcast from the 13th to the 24th of March 2009. As the official channel of the Festival presenting everything that is news at Cannes it will be on air daily on Orange TV (channel 50), orange.fr and Orange mobiles.

EFP announces "Producers on the move"

2009-04-16T15:20:00.007+02:00

European Film Promotion has announced the producers that will take part in its 10th "Producers on the Move" programme. The members choose young(ish) producers that have made a mark with local productions and create networking opportunities and press opportunities at Cannes. There is no Belgian producer this time. The participants are:

Austria:
Alexander Glehr, Novotny & Novotny Filmproduktion (selected by Austrian Film Commission)
Kleine Fische by Marco Antoniazzi

Bulgaria:
Ilian Djevelekov, Miramar Film (selected by National Film Centre, Bulgaria)
"Zift" by Javor Gardev

Croatia:
Ankica Jurić Tilić, Kinorama (selected by Croatian Audiovisual Centre)
"Kino Lika" by Dalibor Matanić

Czech Republic:
Monika Kristl, Dawson Production (selected by Czech Film Centre)
"3 seasons in Hell" by Tomás Masín

Denmark:
Christian Potalivo, M&M Productions (selected by Danish Film Institute)
The Lost Treasure of the Knight's Templar: The Mystery of the Snake Crown by Giacomo Campeotto

Estonia:
Katrin Kissa, Homeless Bob Production (selected by Baltic Films)
"Autumn Ball" by Veiko Ounpuu

Finland:
Matti Halonen, FS Film Oy (selected by Finnish Film Foundation)
"8 Days to Permier" by Perttu Leppä

France:
Emmanuel Agneray, Bizibi (selected by Unifrance)
"Jaffa" by Keren Yedaya

Germany:
Janine Jackowski, Komplizen Film GmbH (selected by German Films)
"Everyone Else" by Maren Ade

Hungary:
Gábor Sipos, Laokoon Filmgroup (selected by Magyar Filmunió/ Hungary)
"Happy New Life" by Árpád Bogdán

Iceland:
Gudrún Edda Thorhannesdottir, Spellbound Productions (selected by Icelandic Film Centre)
"Country Wedding" by Valdís Óskarsdóttir

Ireland:
Andrew Freedman, Venom Film (selected by Irish Film Board)
His & Hers by Ken Wardrop

Italy:
Giorgia Priolo, Film Kairòs (selected by Filmitalia)
"Black Sea" by Federico Bondi

The Netherlands:
Carmen Cobos, Cobos Films b.v. (selected by Holland Film)
El Olvido by Heddy Honigmann

Norway:
Yngve Sæther, Motlys AS (selected by Norwegian Film Institute)
"The Man who Loved Yngve" by Stian Kristiansen

Poland:
Andrzej Jakimowski, Zjednoczii Artystów i Rzemieślników (ZAiR) (selected by Polish Film Institute)
"Tricks" by Andrzej Jakimowski

Portugal:
Rodrigo Areias, Bando Ã Parte (selected by ICA I.P./Portugal)
"Tebas" by Rodrigo Areias

Romania:
Daniel Mitulescu, Strada Film (selected by Romanian Film Promotion)
"The Way I Spent the End of the World" by Catalin Mitulescu

Slovak Republic:
Peter Kerekes (selected by Slovak Film Institute)
Cooking History by Peter Kerekes

Slovenia:
Eva Rohrman, Forum Ljubljana (selected by Slovenian Film Fund)
"Landscape N° 2" by Vinko Moderndörfer

Spain:
Koldo Zuazua, Alicia Produce, S.L. (selected by ICAA/ Spain)
"Me Too" by Antonio Naharro & Alvaro Pastor

Sweden:
Erik Hemmendorff, Plattform Produktion AB (selected by Swedish Film Institute)
"Involuntary" by Ruben Östlund

United Kingdom:
Adrian Sturges, Picture Farm (selected by British Council)
"The Escapist" by Rupert Wyatt

MIPTV 2009: Putting a perspective to the moaning

2009-04-15T15:18:00.002+02:00

An excellent articleby Tanuj Garg in the Bollywood Hungama echoes my experience with the trade fairs at Cannes these past few months. Yes, figures are down. Yes, budgets have been cut. But there is still business to be done - and important contacts to be made for when the recovery picks up.

"The doom and gloom projected by attendees lacks perspective. There were acquisition executives aplenty - what has changed is that these execs are operating with substantially hacked budgets, which has, in turn, made their quest for content narrow, cautious and focused. This means that because buyers know what they want before they come down to the market, they are extremely selective about the companies they want to meet up and do business with."

My slant: know who you want to meet and know precisely what they want and you have a good chance of doing that deal - perhaps not the deal you would have made last year, but those deals won't be back for some time.

Check out the full article here.

South African film wins Cannes award

2009-04-14T11:52:00.004+02:00

The International Festival of Pan-African film in Cannes, which celebrates the best cinema from Africa and the African diaspora, has announced the following results.

The Dikalo for the best full-length feature:
"Izulu de Lami, My Secret Sky" by Madoda Ncayiyana – South Africa 2008

The Dikalo for the best fiction short:
"The Birthday Party" by Véronique N. Doumbé – 6’36 – USA 2009 "Subira" de Ravneet Chadha Drame 12’ Kenya 2007

The Dikalo for best documentary:
"Les Damnés de la mer" by Jawad Rhalid – doc. 56’ – Morocco 2008
Special mention for the documentary
"Les Petits Princes de Sables" by Stéphanie Gillard Doc. 55’ – Fr 2009

Swanning on the Riviera?

2009-03-31T16:15:00.009+02:00

Some things can always been counted on. After each Mipim, the British press always run an article or two about how their councillors are spending their tax-payers' money living it up on the Riviera. This year is no exception, when a six-person team from Croydon was accused of "swanning around on the French Riviera". The price tag was £10,000. I'm not sure if that includes the entrance fee. And apparently there was some stand space involved. So if it brings in some investment, it can't be that bad. It's worth mentioning that this is not the first time Croydon has been represented.

Presenting projects at Cannes (in French)

2009-03-20T12:24:00.003+01:00

Anyone attending the Cannes fest with a project might be interested in reading about Tunerz. This is a project I put together with Gaétan Cardella last year, where we presented an outline and some collateral to a number of partners. It's interesting as we are mining a niche, Europe's tuning scene, that offers lots of promotional potential. We have been keeping a captain's log of the project in French at the following site, Tunerz the Movie.

We talk about writing and presenting stuff at Cannes. We'll also have updates before the event kicks off, as we are currently rewriting. Incidentally, we're actively looking for co-producers. So if you think it's worth meeting at Cannes, feel free to drop a line via the Contact page. We have very precise ideas about the market and promotion.

Pan-African film fest to kick off April 1

2009-03-18T16:53:00.003+01:00

The 6th Festival International du Film Panafricain will kick off on April 1 with a gala event at the Hotel Carlton. The festival showcases cinema and fashion from across Africa and the diaspora and will this year feature some 40 films. Director and journalist Ramatou Keita is this year's honorary president.

Extra events during the festival include Cinéma, Slam et One Show : Islam Abad & Phil Darwin - 3 April– Espace Miramar – 65, Bd de la Croisette – 20h30, a Haitian night on Saturday 4 and the closing night devoted to Madagascar.

For details, visit the International Pan-African film Festival.

MIPIM: "More work, less sunbathing" according to FT

2009-03-17T14:51:00.004+01:00

In confirmation of the trend at Midem last January, the Financial Times notes that despite the lower attendance, participants at Mipim 2009 were globally satisfied. "Whether attendees were down 10,000 or 20,000 is irrelevant, as the fewer that went were there to work, rather than drink and sunbathe", it noted.

Specifically, the market was taking courage from the fact that German banks have started lending again - at high rates and very selectively - but money is circulating. Companies benefiting from stronger currencies were in a good position to avail of the new opportunities, such as London's City district.

Cannes Film Market: don't miss the early bird deadline

2009-02-21T10:00:00.002+01:00

Anyone planning on attending the Cannes Film Market, which takes place during the festival, should look out for the first early bird rate on March 1. Book before that date and you will pay just €286. The following rate is €317 (deadline: April 29), while the walk-in rate is €386.

The registration page is quite difficult to find. So here's the direct link. Or click through from the Marche du Film.

MIPIM yacht rentals down, but that's hardly news

2009-02-16T11:43:00.004+01:00

According to a report in Britain's The Daily Telegraph, not all the 100 yachts that had been booked for Mipim will be used. In fact, they give the precise figure of 36 being cancelled. If true, this is not surprising. It's obvious that given the current financing crisis, most companies are looking more carefully at expenses. What is sometimes overlooked, however, is that these yachts also double up as accommodation. The incredible popularity of Mipim means that people are sometimes in hotels as far away as Nice, which is very impractical. Last year, the organisers even parked a liner in the bay to help with accommodation, although rough weather meant that some of the guests couldn't get off!

A quick look at the hotel bookings in Cannes shows that there are still rooms available close to town.

On its site, Mipim points out that a downturn in property value offers better opportunities for investors. It also highlights a number of interesting projects in Shanghai, Paris, Duisburg and Cologne.

Cannes film fest:: who's going?

2009-02-09T14:16:00.002+01:00

With the figures at the Rotterdam and Berlin film festivals down, as well as this year's Midem, it doesn't take a clairvoyant to tell us that the figures for the Cannes Film Festival will most likely be down as well. The contrary just would not be logical. So the question about whether to go or not to go is even more acute. The festival site and Cinando market database have nothing to say on the subject yet.

Those who are debating whether to come should consider a few things: the credit crunch is affecting the ability of companies to raise finance. But let's not forget that there are already too many films being produced globally. Will your project stand out? Does it make sound financial sense?

On the upside, when numbers are down, people often have more time to explore options together. The industry is not collapsing. It is going through a severe crisis alongside other industries. Also, it is very likely that the price you pay for accommodation will be down on average as you might be able to squeeze into that hotel that is usually fully booked.

I'll keep you informed about any news I hear, plus good deals on accommodation.

MIPIM: book your hotels now

2009-01-25T20:12:00.004+01:00

Programmed for March 10-13, the Mipim real estate trade fair looks like it will be busy despite the crisis in real estate worldwide. But rather than analyse the prospects for the business, this is a just a quick reminder to people that would like to book hotels: there are still a few left at reasonable prices, but you really should book now.

A quick look at a few hotels, gave prices from €455 (Hotel Thomas) to €5200 (Villa Garbo - much closer, much nicer) for four nights. As ever, the best value is outside town in La Bocca, with the Residhotel Cannes Festival posting rates of €472. All prices are single, with only a few rooms left per hotel.

To check availability, check Cannes hotels for Mipim.

Midem: attendance down, activity up

2009-01-23T18:59:00.004+01:00

According to the event's president Dominique Leguern, attendance of Midem was down 1,000 people to 8,000 this year. "As Chuck D said, it's not a music industry crisis, it's a CD crisis," she said. "At Midem, we have lost physical distributors and manufacturers and small labels that have not been able to survive the economic crisis that hit on top of falling CD sales."

Attendance was also surely affected by the current financial crisis. On the show floor, however, the mood was more positive, with participants reporting longer and more productive meetings. "Who wants to talk to people that are scared?" as one participant commented on those that were absent.

The continued drop in CD sales has not yet been compensated by other forms of revenue, although Nokia was aggressively promoting the idea of Comes With Music and synch licensing was on everyone's agenda. The other big recurring theme was the idea of strengthening the ties between the artist and audiences.

The presence of Russia was also important, although its artists failed to make a significant impression. Live acts that scored points included Northern Ireland's Duke Special and Canada's Ndidi Onukwulu and the UK's Jamie Cullum.

Last-minute hotel deals at Midem

2009-01-14T11:18:00.005+01:00

I don't know if it's a sign of the times, but there are some good last-minute deals on hotels for Midem 2009. If you want to stay in town, you can find good rates at the Amarante Cannes (photo) which is located on Boulevard Carnot, with double rooms under €500 for 4 nights. A few doors away, the Residence Excel Suites also has rooms just a little more expensive. And if you can fit it onto your expense account, why not spend a few nights at the Majestic Barrière for once (under €2000)? You'll wake up literally in front of the Palais.

Further from town, the Mercure Cannes Mandelieu has rooms for under €300 for four nights. There are still cheap rooms available in Mandelieu and Juan-les-Pins. If you are coming with a number of people, you should try the popular Cannes Beach Résidence in La Bocca. They have studio apartments at under €250. Click through and search around.