Cinema has always been a transforming force in my life. Though I grew up in a household without cable and was only allowed to watch TV on weekends, movies were ever-present. My father, born in Lagos, Nigeria in the years following the second world war was enamored with film. He introduced my sister and me to films like My Fair Lady, The Sound Of Music, and Pride and Prejudice. A forever student and curious about the world, he used cinema as a window into different cultures and periods. His love of the moving picture was transferred to me and I made a career out of it.
Though I’ve had the opportunity to attend several North American film festivals over the years including Sundance, Toronto, Tribeca, Urbanworld, American Black Film Festival, and New York Film Festival -- Cannes has always been a dream of mine. Earlier this year, after being nominated by Indiewire’s Executive Editor and VP of Editorial Strategy Eric Kohn, I was invited to participate in Unifrance’s Inaugural French-American Critics Lab program.
Unifrance’s Critics Lab was set in place to strengthen the ties between U.S. and U.K. film critics and the French film industry. For the first time, I ventured to Cannes to cover a plethora of French films coming from up-and-coming directors who were presenting their first or second features at the festival.
While I had festival experience, Cannes is THE festival. I arrived in the South of France on a blissfully warm Tuesday just as the festival was beginning. After settling into my apartment space, I headed to the infamous, Palace of Festivals and Congresses of Cannes to grab my credentials. Though it all looked intimating with long lines and robust security, it was a seamless process.
In the days leading up to the festival, I had been slowly selecting tickets for the screenings that I wanted to attend. Since the tickets opened up online at 7 am GMT and only opened one day ahead of time, that was a bit of a harrowing experience at first. However, the festival was able to modify the experience for the press so that became more seamless as the festival pressed forward. Still, I must say that waking up extremely early every day, even if you didn't have an event or screening to attend was a bit much after a while.
With my schedule set and a pen in hand, I began embarking on my screenings catching some sensational films including the quippy, Everybody Loves Jeanne the stunning Love According to Dalva, and the majestic, The Five Devils.
In addition to my 10 written reviews, Unifrance allowed me the opportunity to also take part in video reviews. Since I’m used to speaking through my writings, it was a bit of a learning curve for me, but after a couple of tries I got the hang of it, and it became a new skill set that I’ve been able to flex.
My critic colleagues and I also were heavily supported by Unifrance while we attended the festival. There was a centrally located hub where we were able to work and record our reviews. We also attended several dinners and lunches where we were introduced to French directors, actors, producers, and distributors enabling us to make long-lasting connections after returning home.
With a focus on French films, I was able to see more than 20 films that I would not have normally been able to see at any of the previously listed festivals. Moreover, the warm days and beautiful sand beaches of Cannes made it the perfect backdrop.
