Cannes Film Festival — which takes places May 12-23 in 2020 — is an industry festival, meaning that the main market area in the Palais and main competition films are generally only open to people who are in the film industry, and not the public. This translates to, more or less, Do you have a legit IMDB profile?
~~ BADGE OPTIONS ~~
With a badge, you don't have to pay for individual movie tickets in main Cannes Film Festival, though you do have to wait on line. This includes in competition, out of competition and Un Certain Regard. In addition, with Market (black) badges, you can also see all the marketplace screenings for the buyers/industry folks around the around. Note you still need a hard ticket for a red carpet premiere, or anything in the Lumiere Theater (where red carpet takes place)
A market (black) badge, if you get approved, costs about US$400-$500 depending on when you register and you can see as many movies as you want, though you have to wait in line. There are some ways to get around the "legit IMDb profile" constraint if you are not in industry (e.g. go with a company which buys market badges in bulk which they assign to you).
Additional badge options
• Youth pass: If you are 28 and under, you can apply for the Three Days in Cannes "Youth Pass," which was introduced in 2019 to fill seats when industry is gone (early and late). Applications start February 17.
More info:
https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/participer/accredit#tab=accreditation-for-three-days-in-cannes• Cinephile pass (deadline March 3): Apparently you can apply if you are a film buff and belong to a "movie club." We have never done this, nor do we know anyone who does this, but if you want to go this route, we can investigate. A film club to join could possibly be Film Independent (
https://www.filmindependent.org) for $95, which also lets you have access to screeners when awards time rolls around since you get to VOTE for the Spirit Awards. More info on Cinephile here
https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/participer/accredit#tab=cinephiles-accreditation• Submit a film for the "Short Film Corner" for a fee 85 euros, which comes with two festival (purple) badges for the director and producer. The corner, which is part of the marketplace, is NOT the same as being in competition in Cannes Court Metrage (which comes with a laurel. All they do is basically check "is this a short film?" There is no judgement on artistic merit.
~~BUT HOW DO I SEE MOVIES WITHOUT A BADGE?~~
So if you don't get a badge, there are three parallel film festivals that take place in coordination with Cannes, including Director's Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs), Critics' Week, and ACID. These are where you can just buy tickets like a normal person for surprisingly cheap (as low as 7 euros) or just wait on line for free! These are often the movies that have played in other film festivals, or are notable premieres in their own right.
Also! There are free movies on the beach every night as part of Cinema de la Plage (they even give you blankets on the chairs). Their selection often has tie-ins to folks who are at the main Cannes festival, or have historical significance (e.g. someone died). In the last two years, we have watched Black Panther and Boyz in the Hood on the beach while listening to the sound of the waves on the sand.
~~ PARTIES AND HOTELS ~~
Parties are not generally badged, and neither are the hotels, including Hôtel du Cap in Antibes (the posh hotel where celebrities hang and also Harvey Weinstein did some of his nasty things). That being said, you should be ready to drop $20 for a cocktail to hang out at those hotels. Point being, there are lots of ways to have fun with cool people and many neat things to do in the Côte d'Azur without having to go to movies.
~~HOUSING ~~
To give you a sense of housing cost, you should be looking at ~$150/head/night for 5-6 nights for "dignified" housing in a good location. That goes up or down with private/shared bathroom, ocean view, less good location, pull-out couch etc. We would probably break this to generally first half (~May 12-18) OR second half (~May 18-24). This nightly rate can drop if you are there for longer, and also if you want to add days in the beginning/end. Most good venues rent for the whole 12-day duration of Cannes, but you can sometimes stretch/shift that window as part of the negotiation. The housing rate also drops if you are willing to be more scrappy — housing which is literally on the other side of the railroad tracks, or couches/air mattresses. But baseline you are $100/night for anything within walking distance of the Palais. You can stay further out, outside walking range, but Ubers are so expensive that you find the cost basically events out.
~~ WHAT DO I WEAR? ~~
Cannes is generally casual EXCEPT for the red carpet premieres. These generally require a badge AND a ticket. For men, this is tux. For women, it's nice (formal?) dress and high heels (there has been controversy over whether heels are actually necessary:
https://www.screendaily.com/festivals/cannes/cannes-women-denied-palais-entry-for-wearing-flats/5088395.article). Cannes is one of the few places where the dress code is arguable tougher for men than women.
~~ FOOD ~~
Unlike Park City, the food in Cannes can actually be pretty cheap and good, as well as expensive and good. You have everything from McDonalds (screen ordering only), to fancy restaurants up the mountain with ocean views, to late night schwarma places with long lines, to buying yummy baguettes and butter at the supermarket. We generally don't do as much cooking because food options are plentiful. We keep basic stuff in the fridge (yogurt, fruit, hummus, cold cuts).
~~ SHOPPING ~~
Monoprix, like the Fresh Market meets Target, is where you go if you forget any basics like socks or underwear.
FNAC if you forget your country converter.
~~CLUBS and LOUNGES~~
There are many clubs on the beach here you can pay for membership independent of being a badge. They have WiFi or are good places to hold meetings.
• American Pavilion, inside the Palais (so you need a badge). Serves decent, not-exorbitantly priced food. Membership comes with invites to member party and Queer Night each year - both fun.
• TKTKT
~~ HOW DO I GET TO CANNES? ~~
The closest airport to Cannes is Nice (NCE), where you can either take a 35 minute taxi/Uber (Around $70) or walk to the train station and take it to Cannes. The train station is about a 12 minute walk from the Palais. You can also fly to Paris (go Norwegian Air for cheap flights) and take a lovely 5-hour train, straight form the Charles de Gaulle — though check availability as the trains are often sold out. Note that Cannes runs into Memorial Day weekend, so you could make a whole France trip of it.
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