Donation for the environment
So many new things for the Festival this year! For the first time, guests will draw a health passport next to their access badge, which they will have paid for… for the first time. On the occasion of its 74e edition, the organization taxes all accreditations with a sum of 20 euros, for “Offset the carbon emissions generated by the travel of accredited persons to Cannes and their accommodation “. A committee “Independent expert scientist ” will select environmental programs “Reliable and relevant” to which these funds will be allocated and will reveal them in a year. The initiative was announced on April 15 with a dozen other commitments, such as reducing the number of plastic bottles or reducing the volume of the red carpet.
Toll for doing business
Unlike the Venice Film Festival or the Berlin Film Festival, Cannes is not open to the public but reserved for journalists, handpicked cinephiles and film professionals. If, until then, the first two could receive a free pass accessible on file, the last always had to pay to obtain a “Marché du film” badge. The latter costs between 349 and 493 euros and opens the door to the great fair, where 12,000 producers, distributors and filmmakers do business on the sidelines of the screenings. This accreditation allows you to attend certain Cannes sessions. Its “platinum” version, at 2,100 euros, ensures priority seats for the most requested screenings, such as the gala screenings preceded by the climb of the stairs.
Sleight of hand
In Cannes, having an accreditation in no way guarantees access to the Grand Auditorium Lumière of the Palais des Festivals, where all the films in official competition are screened. To sit on one of the 2,300 seats in the hall, accredited members must, this year, pre-book all their sessions online as of July 4. After a few hours or a few days of waiting, they will get (or not) a more or less well-located place. According to Xavier Monnier, author of Cannes Confidential (Robert Laffont), this attribution system is based on obscure criteria that are not always understandable. “Cinephile passes do not give free access to the Palais des Festivals and only low priority to obtain seats at the Grand Théâtre Lumière”, writes the journalist. According to the author, this selection, as random as it is subjective, is put in place to regulate an exploding demand.
Color scale
In previous years, in the absence of health risks, the 4,000 journalists covering the event did not need a reservation to access press screenings but had to queue in the line corresponding to the color of their badge. A different pass is granted to each of them depending on their importance in the eyes of the organizer, the “size” of their media or the position they occupy within their editorial staff. That of a freelance writer, for example, will not have the same color as that of a CDI. At the top of the hierarchy, the white pass, reserved for VIP journalists, opens the doors to all screenings without waiting; it is followed by yellow with a pink dot, also offering certain privileges to regulars. Then comes the pink, which will make you wait a little longer. In the last row follow the blues, then the yellows, intended for first-time participants, and finally the orange, reserved for photographers and videographers, who will remain standing throughout the festivities. With each new edition, the bottom of the scale aspires to reach the top step. Because, according to Xavier Monnier, “Accreditation does not depend on the sole and trivial possibility of seeing a film or going into a party. It establishes your rank at the court of Cannes “.