It has come and gone this famous Festival de Cannes, but not without leaving a sweet memory that lingers! All of the world's filmmakers come out of every nook and cranny to set on a journey to film-land's paradise, anticipating their bites of caviar, sips of champagne, glitz and glamour and a deluge of movies from around the world. Costing over 20 million Euros, the festival is the world's largest media event, attracting over 4000 journalists, 250 TV crews, 180 radio stations representing 81 countries--second only to the Olympic games. Almost half a century ago a fine Frenchman is often quoted, grumbling about the festival: “Always the same films, always the same circus… pollution… mental and physical pollution…nothing, nothing, nothing.” Is the Cannes Film Festival really, ”nothing”? It was for many years, but it has aggressively changed and through the years it has become the No1 International Film Festival by far, mingling the serious, the progressive, the creative, with the spectacle, the sparkle and the splendour of an unparallelled pageantry well worth the trip of the film- world's glamourati. This was one of the better years for Cannes, but come time for the awards on closing night, all jaws dropped. The least deserving film of the 19 competition films was handed the coveted Palme d'Or. Dheepan, an unremarkable drama about a Tamil Tiger refugee seeking asylum in France, by French director Jacques Audiard, a Cannes regular and previous winner, is by no means his best effort. What! No film about the Holocaust? Do not rush us… of course there is, not one but two. In fact an unknown Hungarian director Laszlo Nemes was awarded the Grand Prix for his very first effort Son of Saul, about life at Auschwitz. A second film, spoken entirely in Hebrew, was written directed and starred in by Israeli born actress Natalie Portman, A Tale of Love and Darkness, described as a ‘love letter to Israel'. It was so bad it could not win any awards, but at least Cannes tried. The Lobster won the Jury Prize, which was a crowd pleaser and was expected to win the Palme. Many critics had bet on the film Carol about a lesbian affair in the 50s based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith, directed by Todd Haynes and performed by the divine Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara. How can you snub Blanchett for any other, let alone a beginner? The auspicious jury at Cannes did. They gave Best Actress Award to Mara shared by French actress Emmanuelle Bercot. At long last, superb actor Vincent Londin who had never ever won any award took home Best Actor Award for The Measure of A Man. All the favourites fell, just as last year, just as always… therein lies the failing of Festival de Cannes. There was a bright spot in the award department, a refreshing surprise! In the ‘court metrage' (short film) category, Lebanon won the Palme d'Or for Waves'98… Arabs have talent too! The “Director's Fortnight” section reserved an eye-brow raiser, and a critics' pleaser: Arabian Nights! Incredible! The mention of anything Arabian in France after ‘Charlie Hebdo' was scandalous, but this did not trouble acclaimed Portuguese director Miguel Gomes. His most ambitious movie is six hours long, presented on three separate nights. It is not about 11th century Baghdad, still Gomes takes us on a pleasant journey through modern-day Portugal. “It is an inspiration, not an adaptation” says Gomes: “The film resonates with the mentality of an era this is why I called on Scheherazade to help me.” Although this superior production did not win… the Maltese pooch Lucky, half Maltese, half miniature poodle, co-star in the film was awarded The Palm Dog Award at the UK Film Centre Pavillion. Trust the British to covet their pets! A bit of nostalgia was provided by the side-bar ‘Cannes Classics' which was dedicated to revered director Costa-Gavras. His famous 1969 film Z opened the series. Among other classic treasures were Citizen Kane, (1941), and Lady from Shanghai, (1947), both directed by the inimitable Orson Welles, who also stars in The Third Man, (1949), directed by the esteemed Carol Reed and Marius (1931), by the equally esteemed Alexander Korda… what joy to view or review such masterpieces. The most exhilarating sight apart from the bathing beauties, were the fluttering festival posters with a young Ingrid Bergman… what an homage to the pride of Sweden, of Hollywood, and now of Cannes. Perhaps it was only a coincidence but Isabella Rossellini, daughter of the late Bergman and Italian director Roberto Rossellini presided over the jury of ‘Un Certain Regard', a highly acclaimed Cannes category. Delighted by her mother's posters all over Cannes, Isabella thanked the Festival for this tribute and said her mother was a guardian angel watching over them. One often asks: “What is this thing called Cannes?” It is a frenzied, frantic, frustrating festival, a profitable, propitious, pretentious holiday, with golden sands and crystalline sea and sky. Filmmakers and film lovers descend on that tiny resort making it the capital of the film world for 12 days in May. It is a strange mélange of cheers and jeers, smiles and tears, cuties and beauties and more films than you can ever see in a lifetime. Visitors packing to go back to where they came from, carry memories engraved in their minds and sincere hopes they will be back for another Festival de Cannes. “How sad and bad and mad it was — but then how it was sweet” Robert Browning (1812-1889)
