Cannes is back.
The stars are on their way to the French Riviera, and the lights are on. The stars are en route to the French Riviera.
Due to the pandemic, the show is currently running 14 months behind schedule. It’s just time for the city’s merchants and hoteliers, who hope that the return of the festival’s glamour and revenues will herald a wider renaissance in France’s cultural scene after an extremely difficult year.
We lost all international conventions, congresses, and large events such as the film festival. Charles Richez, the Majestic Hotel’s director, stated that this meant we had lost millions. “We are very happy to have the film festival back. It marks the beginning of all international events returning.
Cannes organizers plan to host the first coronavirus-era full-scale film festival, despite concerns about the spread of the delta variant that is rapidly spreading across Europe.
Festival attendees are required to wear masks and must be tested or vaccinated every 48 hours. However, moviegoers are allowed to sit together and there is no virtual component to the festival.
As France’s summer vacation season begins this week, visitors are returning to Cannes’ shoreline. Families are enjoying a day at the Cannes beaches. Tourists snapped selfies in front the festival banner which was unfurled Sunday. It was adorned with palm trees and seagulls, as well as Spike Lee, the jury president,’s signature cap and glasses.
Workers finish polishing the windows at the Palais de Festivals. There is no evidence that the temple of world cinema was once lined with hospital beds in the early days of the pandemic or used as a “vaccinodrome” earlier this year.
It’s not a typical year, however. Cannes has seen a smaller crowd and there are more empty tables at restaurants. Some shopfronts were still boarded up.
Cannes’ conservative mayor would benefit from a successful festival. He just won a reelection bid and is well-known for hosting the elite of cinema in his city, 75,000 people.
It would also be a huge relief to President Emmanuel Macron’s government. After repeated outbreaks of the virus that claimed more than 111,000 lives, the government opened France’s doors for American and other tourists in time for the Cannes festival.
France’s infection rates are rising after weeks of decline. Authorities are encouraging more people to get vaccinated in an effort to prevent a summer lockdown.
The virus will be absent for 12 days at Cannes. Instead, glamour, intrigue, and drama will reign supreme. The event will open Tuesday with Leos Carax’s musical “Annette”, followed by films from Sean Penn, Wes Anderson and other filmmakers around the globe. Some of these were official selections for the festival last year, but they never took place.
Enzo Comme, the manager of New cafe in Cannes said that “we just want to work.” “We don’t need aid from the government. We just need to be open to work, and then, afterward, if that’s possible, we want these masks to go off.”
