Moviola moments

 

 

What really is Cannes? It isn’t the capital of France. It isn’t even near Paris. And it certainly isn’t the movie hub of the world. But those in the business of cinema – whether they peddle expensive tent-pole movies or craft small, intimate, cutting-edge films – simply cannot do without it.

But hang on, there is more to Cannes than its famed film festival. Sans the latter, held for 12 days in May every year, this French Riviera town wouldn’t have been what it is today – one of Europe’s most written about places.

There is nothing in the world quite like the Cannes Film Festival. Over 200,000 people arrive here during the event. Nearly 40,000 of them are registered delegates, 4000 of whom are accredited journalists. In terms of media coverage, the Cannes Film Festival is rated as the world’s third largest event after the Olympics and the soccer World Cup.

So shouldn’t the movies be the sole thing on your mind as the aircraft floats in from over the Mediterranean to land at the Nice Cote d’Azur airport? Well, the answer is no. During the 30-minute taxi ride from Nice to Cannes, think silvery beaches, soothing climes, tempting wines and hours of repose in genteel cafes.

Cannes is a veritable smorgasbord, a city of pomp and ceremony that celebrates high art with as much passion as it embraces the most brazen displays of showmanship from attention-hungry movie industry mavens and mavericks. In May, Cannes and its denizens eat, drink and breathe cinema. Once you are on the Croisette, which runs along the waterfront and houses a slew of ritzy hotels, classy boutiques and upscale diners, besides the imposing, if somewhat functional, Palais des Festivals, you are submerged by a tidal wave of a buzz.

The hip and happening celebration of the movies transforms the town, once an unexceptional fishing port, into the movie capital of the world for about two weeks. Everybody who is anybody in the business congregates here in search of that career-defining deal. Every available room and apartment in town is taken by the movers and shakers – as well as the wannabes and pretenders – of showbiz.

An unabashedly hedonistic air hangs heavy over Cannes. Star-struck fans queue up since early afternoon outside the venue and around the hotels to catch a glimpse of their favourite hunks and divas. The paparazzi go into a tizzy when they spot a celebrity. The light that Cannes is usually bathed in has a quality that makes the place a perfect hunting ground for photographers. It’s a world in the grip of a constant whirl. Go along with the flow.

TORONTO Toronto, in the Canadian state of Ontario, is many times the size of Cannes. But its annual film festival is neither as old nor as big as the one in the south of France. The Toronto International Film Festival, TIFF to regulars, is, however, North America’s biggest cinema showcase by far. Moreover, TIFF is the world’s largest “public film festival” – every entry is screened several times over for general audiences, in addition to media personnel and industry delegates.

Toronto is Canada’s entertainment capital and one of the world’s most multicultural cities. The swish Bloor-Yorkville neighbourhood where the festival is held bears testimony to both identities. Although the film festival is held in September, Toronto is a happening place all round the year. When you walk down its streets past the multi-storey shop facades, there is nary a dull moment.

When TIFF was launched in 1975, Yorkville was at best a hippie haunt that was privy to some great music. In the 1960s, Canadian greats like Joni Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot and Neil Young would perform regularly at the coffee houses here. Thanks in part to the film festival that has steadily grown in strength and impact Yorkville is today Toronto’s most frequentd shopping/entertainment district.

Like the rest of downtown Toronto, Bloor-Yorkville is a fantastic blend of classic charm and modern-day flamboyance. It offers an elegant and culturally diverse blend of high-end designer boutiques, fashionable restaurants, plush hotels, some great bookstores and world class art galleries. There is something for everybody in this metropolis. And of course in September each year, for filmmakers from around the world, it becomes a window to the North American market.