All eyes are on southern France today, for the opening of the Festival de Cannes. Films by Hong Sangsoo, Wes Anderson (still shown here), and Jacques Audiard received opening notice in today's edition of Le Monde. (Strangely, no mention of Sacha Baron Cohen.) Among the Cannes coverage in Le Figaro, a piece by Adeline Raynal about the boom business that the festival brings to this Mediterranean town, as a budget of 20 million euros is spent by local governments and partners (my translation):
During the Festival, the population of Cannes triples, going from 74,445 to 200,000 inhabitants. It is good business for local merchants, restaurants, and hotel owners. In the space of two weeks, hotels make 15% of their annual profits, according to the city government. In the course of last year's festival, they sold 84,783 rooms for the night. In a more general way, Cannes generated 200 million euros in profits and created work for over 3,000 people during the festivities, also according to the mayor's office. It is easy to see why the city government agrees to contribute significantly to the event's budget.
Wes Anderson spoke to Emmanuèle Frois in Le Figaro about his film Moonrise Kingdom, which is opening the Festival. It is a love story between Sam and Suzy, two 12-year-old children, which Anderson says is not based directly on his experience but that tries to recreate the innocence and sincerity of childhood emotion (my translation):
I was 11 years old and I was secretly in love with the most popular girl in school and later in high school. I never told her about it. Destiny reunited us in Rhode Island, where I was going to shoot Moonrise Kingdom. One night, at the restaurant, we happened to find ourselves seated near each other. She came over to say hello. I did not speak to her about myself or the film. She told me that she had just moved there. I imagined that she had gotten a divorce...
What sort of child were you?
A dreamer. I used to write stories, plays that I used to direct. One day, my father lent me his Super 8 camera. He thought I might enjoy it. He was right. I was 8 years old and I never stopped making films. Later, I studied philosophy in imitation of my big brother. A way to initiate myself into writing...
You can watch a clip from
Moonrise Kingdom here.
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