Home > Filmmaker Resources and Information > Cannes Guide > Frequently asked questions

I have a film to sell:  who do you suggest I go and see?
Find out who sells this particular genre and invite them to a screening or pop into their office with a tape/arrange a meeting.
 
What does my pass allow me to see? 
Festival (White) badges allow you to see competition/out of comp/Un Certain Regard (see below for info re computerised ticket system). For Directors Fortnight and Critics Week you queue, although the former does sell tickets. Marché (Blue) badges are the same as festival badges but you also have access to marché screenings. Priority is given to buyers.  Festival badge holders may get into marché screenings if there is capacity.

Where can I find a sales agent/production company/distributor?
Screen International, Variety and Hollywood Reporter produce a product guide at the beginning of the festival which will contain this information. The 'Bible' is the blue Marché Guide (see below). If you are looking for a UK based sales agent, producer etc then the Information Stand in the UK Film Centre staffed by members of the British Council’s Films Department is the place to go/ask.

How do I get hold of one of the blue Marché Guides?
These books contain alphabetical listings by country on every sales agent, production company, distributor, national and international organisation, festival, legal firm, facilities house and individual who obtained marché accreditation. It is invaluable for anyone seeking buyers/sellers. It is also a valuable reference tool throughout the year.  Everyone who registers for the Marché receives a copy in their bag.  Therefore if you have Festival accreditation and want to get hold of a Marché guide, the best plan is to visit the offices of the major sales agents who are unlikely to take every copy home with them. Go towards the end of the festival when they are packing up.

How can I find out what films are screening today?
Screen International, Variety, Film Francais, Cannes Marché News all produce daily editions listing festival and marché screenings. In addition when you picked up your accreditation and bag there should have been a Cannes Pocket Guide in the latter which also lists screenings on a day by day basis. The British Council have for many years produced a listing of UK films screening in the Festival and Marché which can be picked up from the Information desk in the UK Film Centre.

Where can I find:

• The Palais des Festival is easily identified as it is the building which contains the Lumiere theatre where competition screenings take place.  The 'red carpet' in front of the Lumiere theatre is where all the photographers gather to snap celebrities attending the Official screenings. There are several entrances to the Palais but the main one is on the side of the red carpet towards the old port.
• The Riviera is the complex adjacent to the Palais, built in 2000 as additional space for Marché exhibitors
• The International Village is the series of white Pavilions built on the seaward side of the Palais des Festival/Riviera complex. Countries such as Canada, Germany, Switzerland, South Africa etc have their bases here. It is also the location of the UK Film Centre.
• The Pantiero is the name given to the area where the French organisations have built a separate complex in front of the old port, the other side of the Gare Maritime.  Unifrance is located here.
• The Lumiere cinema is the main cinema in the Palais des Festival where Competition and Out of Competition screenings are held.  Entrance is via the red carpet area irrespective of whether the screening is in the morning, daytime or evening.
• The Star Cinema is located at 98 Rue d’Antibes (roughly behind the Grand Hotel). It is one of the venues used for Marché screenings.
• Les Arcades is another of the cinemas used for Marché screenings. Located at 77 Rue Felix-Faure (close to the Palais des Festival, the road is a continuation of the Rue D’Antibes).
• The Olympia:  5 bis, Rue D’Antibes – close to Les Arcades. Marché screenings.

Where do the Main Festival, Critics Week and Directors Fortnight screenings take place?

• Main competition, out of competition:  Official screenings are held in the Lumiere Cinema in the Palais. Some of the films may subsequently be screened at one or more of the marché venues.
• Un Certain Regard:  Salle Debussy in the Palais des Festivals but with its own entrance on the side of the red carpet towards the port
• Critics Week:  The official screenings are held in the Espace Miramar, 35 Rue Pasteur.
  The films are then screened at the following venues:
  Palais des Festival, salle Buñuel
  Studio 13, 23 Ave du Dr Picaud
  Theatre de la Licorne, 25 Ave Francis Tonner
  Espace de la Vignasse – Valbonne (outside Cannes)
• Cinefoundation:  Salle Bunuel in the Palais des Festivals
• Directors Fortnight:  The official screenings are held at the Noga Hilton Hotel (50, La Croisette)  in the Theatre Noga Hilton, entrance on rue Amouretti.
  Subsequent screenings take place at Les Arcades and Studio 13.

I need to get finance for my film: who should I speak to?
Check which companies have funded similar projects in the past (access to an old copy of the Marché Guide is particularly useful here). UK production companies including the UK Film Council are reluctant to talk to UK based producers in Cannes. 

What is the Cinema de la Plage?
The Cinema de la Plage enables the general public to participate in the festival through open-air screenings from the Official Selection, Out of Competition and Cannes Classics’ section.  The screenings start around 9.30pm on the Plage Mace.  A festival/Marché badge or an invitation obtained from the Tourist Office is required to gain admittance.

Where can I photocopy, send a fax?
There is a business centre located in the Palais des Festivals.

Do you know where I can buy stationery items?
At one of the supermarchés in the town:

• Monoprix, 9 Rue du Marechal Foch
• Champion, 6 Rue Meynadier
• Casino, 22-24 Ave des Anglais (not as close to festival venues as the other two)

Where is Screen International?
Screen is based in the Carlton Hotel,  ground floor picture gallery.

Where can I check my emails/get internet access?
The UK Film Centre ; Business Centre in the Palais; internet cafes in the town, other Pavilions which offer free internet access to delegates.

Does the festival accept digital films?
Although there are no rules regarding shooting formats, only films with a 35mm print will be screened. This rule is relaxed for films in Cinéfondation (and occasionally Critics’ Week), for which 16mm prints are also accepted.

Help! I've missed the accreditation deadline. What do I do?
Accreditation for the festival usually closes at the beginning of April (mid-April for the Marché).
The Marché tends to be more open to late accreditation than the festival because there is money involved. Although there's no guarantee of success, it's definitely worth ringing them and pleading your case.
The Festival does operate a late registration system in Cannes. However to encourage people to pre-register, they make this system very time consuming. You will need to be patient and have documentary proof of your credit(s) on feature films in the area for which you are applying (i.e. producer, director, writer etc). Business cards and CVs are not accepted by the late registration desk. They have now instituted a charge for late registration.

How do I get tickets for screenings?
For the last few years the festival has introduced a computerised ticket system whereby certain categories of festival goers can check ticket availability for competition and out of competition films on-line.  There are numerous computer terminals located on the ground floor of the Palais for this purpose but any computer with Internet access will do.    You simply type in your badge number and unique password (given to you when you collected your badge) and check which films are available. The system lists films for the next 24 hours only.  After reserving your ticket online, you can collect it from your designated collection point before the specified deadline.  Again you will have been given information regarding your ticket collection point with your badge. Beware – if you reserve and collect your ticket and then decide not to attend the screening, you may be penalised when requesting future tickets. If you cannot attend the screening return the ticket.
The last weekend is a good chance to catch up on the competition films as they are all screened again.

What should I wear at the festival?
May on the French Riviera brings with it mixed weather. Whilst it's quite common for daytime temperatures to nudge 30°C, you will almost definitely see a day or two of rain and cooler weather. Evening temperatures rarely drop below double figures. During the day, the dress code is pretty informal. Casual attire is the norm, t-shirts and shorts are fine.
For evening screenings, the dress code is black tie. For men, this means a tuxedo and dress shirt (although you can often get away with a black suit); but don't forget your bow-tie. This is essential.  For women the rules are, as always, a little looser. You don't need to wear a ball gown, but you should be in formal attire. Trousers are now acceptable as long as they are not casual.

Where can I get a list of films screening at the festival?
The official selection for the festival and its sidebars are normally announced around the middle of April. Films showing in the festival sections (Competition, Out of Competition, Un Certain Regard, Cinéfondation) are announced in a press release on the official festival website. But given interest in the festival, the selection hits most major news wires almost immediately.

Selections for the Directors' Fortnight and Critics' Week are announced separately by their respective parent organisations; normally a day or two after the main festival selection is announced. Again, the announcements are made in a press release on their websites, and will appear in the trade press very soon afterwards.

Screening schedules and venues for films in the official programme and sidebars are normally released a week or two before the festival starts on the official websites. Thousands of other films are also shown in Cannes as part of the Marché. Schedules are maintained and updated on a daily basis by the Marché organisation, and released to the daily trades in Cannes every morning.

How do I get tickets for parties?
Find out who is holding the party – National/International organisation or sales agent and contact them at their Cannes office.