Cannes Diary: Festival to open with Blindness

CANNES AHOY! Films are screened at Olympia, a seemingly small cinema tucked away in a bylane.

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13 May 2008, Tuesday

8.24PM, Palais Press Room

After what seemed like a never-ending journey one finally landed at the Cote d'Azur airport in Nice with all my bags in place (believe me, that's a huge achievement considering eight out of every ten people who attend Cannes each year will tell you their bags almost never make it on the same flight that they do). My bags did make it and I rushed with them to my hotel (much closer to the Palais this year, much more expensive as a result).

In less than 15 minutes, I dumped my stuff, splashed some water on my face and rushed to the Olympia, a seemingly small little cinema tucked away in one of the lanes behind the big shopping district in Cannes.

At 6 pm the lights dimmed and a roomful of complete strangers (press guys from across the world) laughed and cheered in unison as the overweight panda outshone himself and emerged the gifted Dragon Warrior in this gem of an animated film called Kung Fu Panda that'll have its world premiere in Cannes on Thursday.

We were watching it today, because we're a group of very very lucky people who have been nominated to attend the interviews (or what they call the junket) for the film. Which means, tomorrow, us lucky souls will be shunted into rooms, given four minutes each to do a quick but fun interview with the stars of the film.

Since there are a few stars and lots of press and every star's time is limited, they've divided up the stars. Only the really MAJOR papers and channels get the TOPMOST STARS (ie: Angelina Jolie, Jack Black and Dustin Hoffman). I didn't land the Angelina Jolie interview but I do get to chat with Jack Black and Dustin Hoffman tomorrow. YAY!!!

Movie over, I collect my accreditation kit (screening schedules, press bag, lots of useless papers, and of course THE press badge — the 'golden ticket' really that allows you access into films, press room, conferences, limited access areas, etc). That done, here I am at the press room typing out my first entry for my CANNES DIARY.

Tomorrow I will also meet Madame Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. She's a real star in Cannes having been here seven years in a row. First time with her film Devdas, next year as a member of the jury (yes, yes, don't roll your eyes), and subsequently as brand ambassador for L'oreal, one of the festival's big sponsors.

I have ten minutes with Aishwarya tomorrow and I really don't know what to ask considering she usually responds to everything with a giggle.

Tonight, it will be a short walk down to 'Le Lotus', the absolutely awesome Chinese restaurant that i discovered two years ago, in one of the tiny bylanes across from the Palais. I could eat every meal there but since we don't really have time for meals most days, I'll be lucky to have a bite there three times in seven days!

Tomorrow, the festival opens officially with a screening of Fernando Mereilles' Blindness which sounds like a superb film. It's about a plague of blindness that hits this one town. Everybody is hit including a doctor (Mark Ruffalo), the only person who isn't hit by the plague is the doctor's wife (my absolutely favourite actress Julianne Moore). The film also stars Gael Garcia Bernal (the fantastic South American actor from "Y Tu Mama Tambien" and "Amores Perros" and of course "The Motorcycle Diaries").

Journos don't get invited to Opening Night Screening. That's only for the stars and the big-shots, and its compulsory that all attendees MUST wear a tux. You could be Spielberg and they'll turn you away if you're not in a tux. You see why they don't even bother inviting journalists!!!

I'll probably catch Blindness at an early morning press screening on Thursday. So more of that then!

For now, off to Le Lotus. Some fried rice and chicken. Alone. My colleague, my producer-cameraman Karma doesn't arrive till much later tonight.

Adios!

PS: Don't get fooled by all the grumbling. I love Cannes. I'd give an arm and a leg to be here every year!