Hype’s justified, believe me, Cannes do without it

Cannes is where the super rich park their yachts, the film festival venue  has a view to die for. What the world has an eye for is the gown and glory on the red carpet. It doesn’t end. Hollywood beauties stun in one ensemble after the other, Bollywood A listers create their own buzz, stars are born, re-born. At the heart of it all is the serious business of movies.

Advertisement

Cannes’ choice of films may not be dictated by star quotient, but invariably the films premiering here star the biggest and the brightest. Rachel Weisz features not only in Lobster but also Youth, making her presence almost mandatory. She shines through, like her sequined white gown. Actors are willing to strike poses for what seems like eternity; contrast this with the India Pavilion whose organisers couldn’t even rope in Katrina Kaif, who walked the red carpet as L’Oreal’s Brand Ambassador for the opening event. At IFFI in Goa too, the presence of big stars is confined to Day One and perhaps a sprinkling on the last day.

Much like Cinderella’s wand, Cannes has the potential to rub stardust onto ordinary mortals. So, Chandigarh’s Suvinder Vicky, the common man of Gurvinder Singh’s Chauthi Koot, finds himself sharing his spot under the sun at the world premiere of the movie. While he gushes “it can’t get bigger”, his acclaimed director Gurvinder, who is used to festivals around the world, says, “It’s like an illusion.” What makes Cannes so important? Bollywood has reserved a place for itself, but its significance for India is evident by the presence of Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.

Apart from presenting the best of world cinema, from 2000 onwards, Cannes came up with Village International, which showcases film industries from around the world. From hosting 12 countries and 14 pavilions, the number of participating countries has only gone up.

Bobby Bedi, the producer of Bandit Queen, which came to Cannes in 1994 and who himself has been coming here for 20 years now, feels Cannes is important for any film and any country. In fact, it’s come to be known not for the number of movies screened, or the celeb list, but how successfully it weds commerce with art. Actually, it was with creation of its Marché du Film in 1959 that the festival took on a different leap to encourage networking and interaction between all those involved in the film industry.

Last year, out of the 16 competition films, only three failed to pick US distribution. From the Indian perspective, films like Gangs of Wasseypur, The Lunchbox and Miss Lovely have worn the Cannes participation like a badge of honour. This year, UK-based Rajan Kumar Patel, who’s Feast of Varanasi stars Adil Husain, and producers of Hindi film 31st October are searching for greener pastures. 

Sushil Kumar Agarwal, CEO of Ultra Media and Entertainment, is here with three films: Labour of Love, Gurpurnima and Mortu. He claims to have already received a good response from the US, Canada and Europe. Says Bedi, “We are significant players in world cinema, maybe smaller than Hollywood but bigger than any other country present here, and there’s been a perceptible increase in our presence and impact here.”

Not that the Cannes selection process pays heed to size or numbers. Countries such as Taiwan and Japan, which anyway have a fantastic track record in quality cinema, find a place of honour in the competition section. And more than dear Katrina creating a splash, it’s the cast of Japanese film Our Little Sister that gets a standing ovation. It’s a touching tale of human relationships, forgiveness and love — proof again that there is no one fit formula of festival films.

While Mohan Kumar, India’s ambassador to France, might preen that the “French are great connoisseurs of Indian cinema”, let’s modify it: French are great connoisseurs. Not surprisingly, Hollywood biggies such as Mad Max Fury Road and Woody Allen’s The Irrational Man though not part of the competition premiere here. Todd Haynes’ Carol, Justin Kurzel’s Macbeth, Jacques Audiard’s Dheepan and Gus Van Sant’s The Sea of Trees are a few other choice picks.

The biggest feather in the Cannes cap is its jury, with a reputation to pick award-worthy films. This year, it includes illustrious names such as the Coen Brothers, Sienna Miller and Jack Gyllenhaal. Of the 16 films last year, seven represented their countries for the Oscar foreign film prize and three were nominated for best foreign film (Leviathan, Wild Tales and Timbuktu). Two Days One Night even got an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. Back in time there was Piano. Screened here in 1993, its Oscar tally stood at three.

There are nine debutant directors competing for the top prize too. The Uncertain Regard section includes Indian films Chauthi Koot and Masaan. That both are French co-productions could be a mere coincidence. Indeed, India could learn many lessons from Cannes. Upping the glamour quotient at IFFI would be easy, the difficult part would be to cut the government interference even at the opening event. At film festivals, the stage belongs to stars and cinema. Like at Cannes.