Every year, the Cannes Film Festival sees the world's biggest stars from Emma Watson to Cate Blanchett descending on the French Riviera to take to the glitzy red carpet. However, while stars have started sharing the experience with fans by taking selfies for social media as they walk the red carpet, it seems that this year they will have to put away their phones.
Lea Seydoux taking a selfie at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival
"We are waging a campaign to slow down the contemporary practice of selfies on the red carpet and the steps,” Thierry Fremaux, the artistic director at Cannes, revealed to press at the launch of the festival. “Beyond what we think, it’s a practice that’s often extremely ridiculous and grotesque,” he added. With such a star-studded and packed schedule, Thierry revealed that one of the main reasons for the ban was to save time as celebrities make their way to the film screenings. "We don’t want to prohibit it but it’s really a matter of timing," he admitted. "We have a certain amount of time to get people across the red carpet and up the steps and it really slows things down if people stop every two metres to take a picture of themselves, with themselves."
Petra Nemcova taking a selfie on the red carpet at the 2014 festival
With stars from Marion Cotillard to Rachel Weisz often spotted at the festival in high fashion gowns and statement jewellery, the festival's president Pierre Lescure revealed that the organisers feel selfies aren't always the best way to showcase the stars' effortlessly glamorous ensembles. "The red carpet goes around the world and we see people looking very good," added the festival's president, Pierre Lescure. "And honestly you’re never as ugly as on a selfie."
It's not the first time this year that taking selfies have caused controversy at a major event. Coachella organisers shocked fans earlier this month when they revealed that selfie sticks would be banned from the glitzy event. 'No Selfie sticks/Narsisstics' reads the tongue-in-cheek point on their list of prohibited items, found in their FAQ section.