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THE BEST FESTIVAL ON THE PLANET
And so it's off again for the famous and indisputable best festival in the world, which despite a very tough competition, remains the most brilliant and coveted of them all. Each time the opening approaches, every director and every producer rushes to finish their film in the hope of being selected as an official, alongside other films, or at least on a beach on the Croisette.
At the end of the day, tickets are hard to come by, and it seems that the same directors will always be in the running. Ken Loach returns for the thirteenth time this year. There have been countless selections by Almodovar, Assayas and the Dardennes. Nor can we count the controversies that have been fabricated, the over-cautious selections, the people who have no business being there, the freeloaders who swarm there, the people who would like to be selectors instead of Thierry Frémaux. Of course, this year's festival will once again be criticised for being too masculine, inviting only male directors to the Croisette and leaving female directors to festivals reserved for women. It's a shame, and it's a recurring problem, because despite several comments to this effect at past festivals, it would seem that changing mentalities takes time. So we can take comfort in the fact that many films this year seem to have a woman as the main character. It's far from perfect, but it saves us from feeling like we're watching a wrestling match. And yet, despite the routine and the familiar setting, Cannes will always be an important and eagerly awaited event, far more interesting than the UEFA European Championship just around the corner.
The Festival is important and essential because, in the midst of all the hubbub that seems to distract us from its primary interest, there is a real magic that eventually breaks through and sweeps the whole thing away. A magic linked to the art it invokes, the 7th. Because apart from its Film Market, its starlets, its "show off" side, the essence of the Festival is to create, to share emotions, to invite a cinema that we don't necessarily see every day. The Cannes Festival is all about diversity, plurality and discovery, and it invites emotion, provocation and reflection. It's a bubble that allows the most interested to discover new authors, especially in the parallel sections, and allows others to wait for the new works of their favourite authors. Some people may complain about the directors invited each year, but personally I'm always eager to discover the new Jarmush, Lynch, Dolan, Nichols, Cronenberg and Campion.
In fact, a successful festival is like a collection: you need a base, some classics, some basics, and then you need to be able to offer something new, surprise, enliven and amaze. Always bear in mind that it's pleasure and sharing that should be at the centre of life.
Patricia