Drinking as much water as I can as it is hot and am feeling the flush. So what’s been happening?
Friday: Rainy day but the upside is that I can make use of the reheeled boots. See my fist film screening! Wake in Fright is a restored 1971 Australian film about a school teacher’s descent into debauched summer ‘holiday’. It is brilliant and depressing and funny and fantastically directed with a sense of a being written a little more like a stage play that some earlier films have (ie while realistic, play of language utilised sharply). It discusses the country/ cliche Aussie man thing of having to have drink excessively or else offending; after one night of a drunk, impulse gamble, the dude is stuck in the country town where he cannot get directions without having to have six beers. At the same time there is humour- the characters behave awfully but they are also touching and real and we understand and like them so are therefore engaged. The kangaroo hunting scene is going to disturb any French person’s image of their most fascinating Australian topic for life. It’s a film that shows a different and real Australian history and fits into the Australian as savages category (the French love documentaries about Australia as the last wild and savage continent). We’re all touched by. It’s nice to be in an Australian dominated audience who belly laugh and chuckle. I saw Australia the movie in France and nobody laughed at the satire. Many head off for a beer…
Glimpse the Bright Star team on red carpet and head to press room for some work. Just as I think I may melt into the computer, receive blackberry emailed invite for a drink at the Majestic from the guy who gave directions to the annex last night (apparently he was on his phone with earpiece at the time in front of closed bar and I asked if he was the bouncer). It’s a good excuse to leave. Heading out of the Palais, bump into a woman who I met at the Screen Australia function but we can’t remember who each other are. Invite her along. She’s Catherine Jarvis, an Australian producer/writer/director based in Berlin and doing co-productions with Australia; she has 80 percent finance secured for one of her projects so is here to find the 20 that rests. I believe she will, since later she admits that she once danced up to a known financier at a party, whispered ‘I need 50 grand’, got a card to set up a meeting the next day and, as the story goes, closed the deal before the hangover wore off…
We are walking up the stairs of the majestic and I’m saying ‘I’m not sure I’ll recognise him, I think he’s Italian…’ and literally bump into him and entourage. ‘We’re going to a party on beach. Come.’ He’s actually Puerto Rican but with a posse including a flamboyant Italian guy with pink glasses who negotiates us all in. My first beach party in Cannes! It’s a Japanese affair and despite Puerto Rica being disappointed that we didn”t get ipods in our party packs, is mingly and well situated. We meet a German film financier for Catherine in the first sip of rose and on the second have met one of Rachael Turk’s (my ex editor from IF and last year Venice film festival buddy) producer and am doing a photo shoot on his ipod to mms across to sunrise in Sydney. I think it’s Puerto Rica’s friend who is disappointed with Japan as he had just left the Scandanavian party with the women to his taste for sushi…but there is none (prawn dip things which are apparently good but I am wearing gloves to dress up my semi casual outfit – this is good if you are trying to lose weight but not ideal when you have forgotten to ad eating to the schedule or budget).
We head to a bar near the Palais which is initially quiet – probably because people have to be quite drunk to bear the price- ‘don’t feel like you should shout a round’ Catherine whispered. Puerto Rica had apparently just invested 70 euro for a spirit and two small flutes of champagne. But it soon fills up to be a pumping, dance floor packed house music party and one only needs to float in the vague direction of the bar for drinks to land in hand and we all dance and chat and meet a stunt man, some producers and some locals in Cannes just for the clubbing. The idea is to go to The Grand, one of the larger networking hotels with large and deal inspiring outdoor set up but don’t have a full next day so walk the others down there and hook up with Andrew to hitch home.
My room, having a skylight, has flooded from the rain, so mop up and pass out.
