The Cannes Film Festival has started for 3 days and for many of the presents, it is finally a return to normal life after two years of various deprivation and restrictions.
The first day, the same usual effervescence of yesteryear, the excitement for the films to see, the new meetings, the reunion with the friends, some of whom had not been able to attend the 74th edition because of the Pandemic of the Covid. It is “the resurrection” as a passerby said before the Palais des Congrès and Festivals. She is right. It is finally the resurrection, the return to normal life, without physical distancing, without sanitary passes, without PCR tests and with the exception of a few people, without masks finally!
For festival -goers, several new features, some of whom had been initiated in 2021. For example, electronic ticket office, which had been adopted in July 2021 to avoid queues and gatherings, is renewed. It is obvious that this system has its qualities, but it also has drawbacks.
The first day for example, unpleasant surprise for everyone. For hours, it was impossible to connect to the ticket office site, and when it was finally possible, there was almost no available tickets left.
In the evening, the press service had sent an email to explain that the site had been attacked, that computer scientists were working to repair it, but that by waiting, journalists could use another link allowing them to reserve their ticket.
Who had attacked the festival site? For what purpose? For what reasons?
No answer has been given to these questions. Some rumors without any foundation, nothing more.
Since then, it has grown gradually, but the problem is that reservations open at 7:00 am, and at 07:01, there are many tickets left. It is true that throughout the day, places are gradually made available to festival -goers for certain sessions, but you have to be able to stay on the lookout permanently to try to take these new tickets. It is not easy, especially that the accredities are supposed to be in the cinemas watching films, and not hung on their phones or PCs to reserve places!
Before, with a few rare exceptions, it was possible to find places and choose the film and the session you wish. It was also easy to see four films, or even more, in a single day. It was enough of a little organization and especially to arrive a little early in front of the rooms. There with this electronic ticketing system, this is far from the case. We are sometimes forced to take the only available tickets, which do not necessarily correspond to the films that we would have liked to see, or to the sessions to which we would have liked to attend. Indeed, for some films, it is important to see them with an extended audience, and not only between journalists. For example, for a Tunisian like me, for certain films, in particular Tunisian or even Arab films, it is always desirable to attend the sessions open to all festival -goers and in the presence of the film of the film. This allows you to see the reactions of each other, to listen to each other’s remarks, to feel the emotion of the room …
Another advantage of the old system: the long lines of expectations that made it possible to involve discussions with people who come from around the world and to debate films with them. It is obvious that a Frenchman, an Arab, an Indian or an Uzbek do not have the same sensitivity, nor the same culture and cannot see a film in the same way. These exchanges with these foreigners (who sometimes become friends) are very enriching.
Another surprise this edition, no festival bag for accredited. It’s a shame. But it may be logical since in 2021, the festival had decided, for health reasons, to limit the various publications, this bag therefore became useless, but only in theory, because the various magazines, such as Variety, Hollywood Reporter and others, continue to be distributed daily. The festival takes the pretext of environmental protection, fewer papers, less waste, less pollution … But it is obvious that it also makes a sacred economy. Especially since paper lovers are now obliged to buy the various catalogs that are on sale in the official store.
Instead of this bag, the festival has reserved a nice surprise for the accredited: to celebrate the 75th anniversary, posters from previous anniversary editions were offered to all press accredited. It is true that it is a nice gift, which pleased more than one fan of cinema! And who knows, over time, these posters may become collectors!
Another gift, a gourd was distributed to press accredited. This gourd, bearing the festival logo, will replace the various bottles and drinking cans. Indeed, always in order to preserve the environment and to avoid as much as possible the various manipulations and therefore the risks of contagion, fresh fountains were arranged in several places of the festival palace and congresses, to allow these gourds to be filled.
Another novelty for this edition, official partners who have disappeared and others have appeared. Is this the effect of the new presidency? It is thus for example that Renault, official partner of the Cannes Film Festival for over 40 years has been replaced by BMW, and Canal+ Partner for 28 years replaced by France 2.
It is thus that the opening ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival, broadcast Tuesday, May 17, 2022 by France 2, has achieved its best audience since 2011 with 1.77 million viewers, according to mediammetry figures cited by the public channel. In number of viewers, it is four times better than last year’s ceremony on Canal+ (424,000, or 2.3 % audience share), unusually scheduled for early July due to the restrictions due to the COVID. In 2019, the opening ceremony, broadcast in clear on the encrypted channel, had attracted only 402,000 viewers (2.2 % of PDA).
From an audience point of view, it is a “historic record” for the opening ceremony, which brought together 12.2 % of viewers between 6:50 p.m. and 7:55 p.m., according to a press release from France 2.
In Brut, “videos published on the occasion of the opening ceremony recorded a total of 10.6 million views around the world, including 5.2 million in France”, according to the press release joint to the two groups. In addition, “they were broadcast on Facebook, Tiktok, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube and Snapchat”.
Neïla Driss
