Hello there and welcome to a very eventful first day at Cannes Film Festival! My name is Emmy Griffiths, I’m the TV and Film Editor here at HELLO! And myself, and our fabulous reporter Isabelle Casey, are at the festival for just over a week to deliver all of the biggest news from the festival straight to you at home - and hopefully, we won’t have too many ‘Bridget Jones’ moments along the way as it is our first time at the festival - and there is a lot to learn!
So how did day one go down? Well before you read my first diary entry, why not watch my live broadcast from Cannes. As you can tell, we're super excited to be here!
WATCH: Emmy and Isabelle discuss their eventful first day
Arriving in Cannes
We arrived in Nice on Monday, and investigated our small but sweet apartment a mere 10-minute drive from the Boulevard de la Croisette, where all of the Cannea action goes down. With limited time before the supermarkets closed down and left us abandoned and starved, we sprinted to the shops and ended up with a giant bag of fries for dinner along with about four bottles of various juices. With our healthy balanced meal, we were ready for our first big day at the festival.
Firstly, I didn’t realise just how glam the area around the French Riviera would be. Gucci, Prada, Dior, Chanel… if any of the celebs arriving were struggling to find something to wear for their events this week, they only needed to pop over the road!
HELLO! goes to Cannes Film Festival
© Edward BerthelotHELLO! is heading to Cannes Film Festival this year to be on the ground for Europe's most glamorous, lavish and exciting movie event - and we will be sharing it all with you! Our TV and Film Editor Emmy Griffiths alongside reporter Isabelle Casey are on the ground to bring you the biggest moments from the week - what what's the plan, Cannes? You can catch up with us via our day-to-day video diaries posted on HELLO!'s YouTube channel.
You can also join us on TikTok Live, Instagram Stories and our daily diary here on hellomagazine.com. À bientôt!
Confusion in Cannes
Picking up our press accreditation, we visited the Palace of Festivals, which is the main hub of all of the festival activity (and home to those iconic red steps, which were a bit of a thrill to see in real life). The event seemed much friendlier and more casual than a lot of press events I’ve attended in the UK before, with the security staff showing us into the media room and press balcony.
© Michael BucknerNot having a clue what we were doing, these areas were amazing for meeting a couple of fellow members of the press, several of whom gave us some great tips for the best way to spot a celebrity or two (we’d tell you but hey, it’s day one. Let’s see if they actually pan out first)!
Jury’s press conference red carpet
The big event of the day was the jury press conference, which was attended by Cannes president Greta Gerwig, Oscar-nominee Lily Gladstone, Casino Royale star Eva Green, Lupin himself Omar Sy and more! Since the press conference entry was a bit of a blood bath, Isabelle and I stood on the red carpet waiting to catch a glimpse of the cast - and we weren’t disappointed!
© Stephane Cardinale - CorbisWhile Isabelle got a glimpse of Meryl Streep, who is the star of the opening ceremony, we also spotted Greta, who looked amazing in a striped blue frock (which a fellow journalist pointed out was tres similar to my own outfit)!
© Stephane Cardinale - CorbisMeanwhile Lily looked stunning in white and Eva Green was chic in a black ensemble with matching sunglasses. Since they were running a bit late, they didn’t have a chance to stay and chat, but Omar Sy joked with reporters about who was in charge of the festival.
© Pascal Le SegretainTranslated from French, he joked: “Who do you think I am? I have no power! That’s the president, she just went past!” He added: "When I’ll be president don’t worry you’ll know everything!”
The press conference highlights
Watching from the media room, the jurors spoke candidly about the festival during the conference. When quizzed about Sebastian Stan’s new movie about Donald Trump, Greta said: “I don't make any assumptions about what it is... Sometimes a film ends up being about something completely different. I look forward to watching it, as all the films.”
© Mike MarslandShe also addressed the reports that a French industry ‘#MeToo’ story was set to break over the festival, saying: “People in the community of movies, telling the stories and trying to change things for the better, is only good. I have seen a substantive change in the American film community, and it’s important to expand the conversation I think it’s only moving everything in the correct direction to keep those lines of communication open.
“I can’t speak to the way timelines work with movements like this. I can say, it’s evolving, it’s a destination we all reach together. It’s something we’re going to keep discussing and figuring out how we want our industry and cinema to be.
© Pascal Le Segretain“This is something that’s ongoing. I would say there were very many concrete changes that have happened in the American film industry. The one I always think of is the rise of intimacy coordinators, and that is not something when I was starting out with all, and it’s now being built into films. I think of it in the exact same way as a stunt coordinator and a fight coordinator. It’s … [all] part of building a safe environment.”
What's next?
Tonight is the film festival's grand opening with Second Act, starring Lea Seydoux. While the stars grace the red carpet for the event, Isabelle and I will be heading to a nearby cocktail party to chat to other festival attendees and hopefully get some more tips on how to do the Film Festival thing! Stay tuned for tomorrow's update, au revoir!
