CANNES - A FESTIVAL VIRGIN'S GUIDE
Attending the Cannes Film Festival
By Benjamin Craig
Unlike most festivals around the world, Cannes is an event reserved predominantly for film industry professionals and the press. Accreditation, entry to screenings, and admission to official venues is strictly controlled, with public access to the vast majority of the festival virtually non-existent. The International Critics' Week and Directors' Fortnight sidebars do offer some consolation via a small public ticket allocation, and educational groups and French film enthusiasts can gain limited access through the Cannes Cinéphiles programme. But in most cases, non-industry types just have to be happy star-gazing and enjoying what the south of France has to offer.
There are six different types of accreditation available for Cannes and each has different rules, fees, and eligibility criteria.
Festival Accreditation
Previously known as "professional accreditation", this is basically your bog-standard credentials for entry to the Cannes' screenings and official activities. Festival Accreditation is available to a range of film industry professions and provides access to all festival venues (the Palais, Riviera, Village International and the major hotels) and to screenings in the official selection and sidebars. Festival accreditation is free.
Market Accreditation
Each year nearly 10,000 industry professionals attend the Marché du Film. Market Accreditation is available to the board members and employees of companies which either operate in the film industry or service the film industry. Market accreditation costs around 299€ per person attending from a company.
Producers Network
Created in 2004, Le Réseau des Producteurs is a special type of accreditation within the Marché du Film aimed at producers. The intention of the Producers Network is to provide a collection of services and events to help producers develop their projects and to encourage international co-productions. The Producers' Network has its own registration fee structure.
Short Film Corner
Launched in 2004 alongside the Producers Network, the Short Film Corner is a programme within the Marché du Film dedicated to providing a marketplace for professionals interested in buying and selling short films. The Short Film Corner has its own registration fee structure, but the fees are reasonable and this type of accreditation represents the best option for new filmmakers who have a short film to show.
Press Accreditation
Cannes is one of the largest media events in the world and is attended by around 4,000 journalists, representing 1,500 media outlets in over 75 countries. Media access is managed directly by the Festival de Cannes via its "Press Accreditation Commission". Press credentials come in a range of flavours for different audience levels and media types- in other words, the higher the press outlet's profile, and the more people it reaches, the better the access that will be provided.
Cinéphiles Accreditation
Organised by the City of Cannes, in association with the Festival, Cinéphiles accreditation enables local residents to see films from the official selection and sidebars in several cinemas around Cannes, and some screenings in the Palais. Cinéphiles accreditation is also open to film enthusiast and education groups (both French and foreign).
For the full run-down on attending the Cannes Film Festival, make sure you pick up a copy of Cannes - A Festival Virgin's Guide.