The boys- Daren and Andrew- head off to see Japanese film about an inflatable doll who becomes human, ‘Kuki Ningyo’ (Air Doll) screening in Un Certain Regard (one verdict- ‘full of hot air’) while I hit the press room where I bumpt into the colourful Stephanie Bunbury (Age/ SMH writer based in the UK). Editor Dave Tiley at screenhub shoots across release announcing a six country co-prod with Japanese anime series Bubblegum Crisis (futuristic cyberpunk sci-fi), Australian Arclight being the International sales agents. Email them. Invited to the Production agreement signing ceremony but unfortunately they clash with the Screen Australia drinks which is not to be missed (and what I turned down performing Le Cabaret de la Crise with Brad Scott at Le Zebre in Paris to attend!).
Head to Screen Australia along La Croisette by the beach with sandwiched boarded girls, techno pumping vans and way too cutely uniformed French policemen. Meet with producer and distributor Carlos from www.gallopingfilms.com who has six produced/various festival awarded films in the market as well as five projects seeking joint ventures. “I specialise in not specialising,” he says in terms of genre. The selling attribute of a script for him is a “sharp concept”; something that takes him where he doesn’t expect i.e. no soppy love. Having been on both sides of the production line, he says he can well match the sales side to the creative and believes the communication between the makers and the market are best to happen in the earlier stages of development to save from spending years on a script that doesn’t have an audience. He has his next meeting with two producers he think are Russian and I bump into Peter Carstairs who said he’d just arrived via Hong Kong but had found these great jetlag pills that work. Say hello to Frances from Screen Australia who gives me the Arclight stand address and see Rubia and Kranthi who have already had some good meetings but were pissed that they missed picking up their tickets to the Disney party by 5 minutes and stood outside it looking for their mobile- switched- off contacts. Meanwhile Peter (Carstairs) has been wondering found in jetlagged trance and he has lost notebook with all rendez vous for all his meetings for the next ten days. So much for the pills I reckon and he admits that while he was shooting September he was taking vitamins in the morning for a burst and a sleeping pill at night to calm down. The morning of shooting one of the big scenes, he got them mixed up and ended up having to push his eyes open while yawning his way through the experience.
He thinks he’s left the notepad in the internet café near his accommodation half an hour away, or maybe at the Palais so I change into sandals.
We arrive at the Palais and Peter, who has been 3 times back to the same girl at information in a matter of hours, is over the moon to refind his book. Stay tunes, uploading soon.
Peter has Cannes momemt, passing girl on street then chases after her as thinks he used to live with her. It’s her, she now lives in London. Kate Watt, marketing and publicity manager of 3mills.
Then, still happy about being re-united with his book, he agrees to do a little direct to camera to show you some of the buzz of the festival… coming soon.
Press room then to the Screen Australia drinks walking past the beach with orchestra playing and sandcastles being built.
Am actually writing this from bed the morning after. Dragged self out of bed early to bath, iron, coffee and groan but started to feel weak and cold (it’s raining) so climbed stairs and am now with lappy under covers. I can announce however that the Screen Australia drinks seemed to be a huge success all round.
Overheard quote of the night: “I would love to read it. And I’m being honest.” (before disappearing into crowd); “I sold my car to do this screening”.
Big name of the night: Frances Ford Copola “who cares if he was at the party next door”.
Impressed that Tait Brady, Head of Marketing at Screen Australia knew my cultural heritage and that someone skipped the next lift to give me their card 🙂
Laughing at getting 2am call asking if want a glass of red with a producer who had already told me he’d do anything to make the film work. I’m not naming names but I am laughing (calmos Pachino).
Personal score of the night- getting the 60 minute crew to film my little piece to camera! Hooray!
Australians can be great at parties and as the champagne flowed, the cards came out. And I’m glad the Algerian guy in Paris agreed to printing mine on the spot so I wasn’t given out playing cards with hand written details as have been resorted to before…
Too many people to name all but some in attendance whom I spoke to were Frank Cox from Hopscotch Films, Anthony Anderson from The Galvanized Film Group, Katrina Sedgewick (previously seen on Ruby TV at Venice Film Fest- see videos), Antony Ginnane from SPAA (Screen Producers Association of Australia) and Rosemary Blight of Goalpost Pictures.
A drink after at the Majestic and meet a fake ABC journalist who had constructed his own stick on labelled microphone as a way to get into parties “my camera crew are inside”. Am a bit astounded and not sure if it’s funny or bad.
Get invited to the mafia of horror films party. Am NOT a horror film fan at ALL but one needs to be open when it comes to Cannes and parties so trot along and have a great time before deciding it’s a bit late and should re find Daren and see if Andrew is ok after the catch up with an ex.
The fake ABC journalist accompanies me and when he stops for a fake interview, I get an invite on a yaucht by a suited Italian guy. Instead take a card (though no idea now which one it is).
The boys are having tapas and red wine with a bunch of the Samsan & Delilah crew. Daran disappears quickly and Andrew and I decide soon after that we should head.
Too tired to stumble back and taxis are not in the budget (haven’t bought ticket back to Paris yet) so hitch home. I wouldn’t hitch it Oz but French people leaving Cannes parties would only be dangerous in the sense of giving you their number and get picked up with 3 people who had 5 hours to drive home after attending the party with Coppola.
We eat couscous care of Pachino’s Paris supermaket trip (worried I would run out of budget to eat), sit on the balcony and load video into Andrew’s puter for my Paris Voice little piece. I think he called it uneditable but then took it back and is now going to help me cut it together before going to see Bright Star (wants to go tonight but doesn’t have a black tie). it’s now up here and homepage of Paris Voice.
