FOCUS:

Ask any festivalier what Cannes means to him or her, and they will usually mention »the grand staircase« before the Palais des Festivals as the one lasting memory. The red carpet, the limousines, the photo gallery on the sidelines, the tv transmission inside the Palais, the glamour and the glitter, a fashion show par excellence, the crowds on the Croisette that stretch from the Majestic to the Carlton. And it happens every night during the Festival de Cannes, the greatest film show on the festival calendar.

This year, since the Pentecost holiday weekend (May 14-16) falls smack in the middle of the Cannes festival, half of France will migrate to the Côte d'Azur for the fireworks festivities and a glimpse of the celebrity march up the grand staircase.

Look in Cannes Memoires, the official album of Cannes festival history, and you will find some historical photos taken at »the stairs« that have gone down in the media as symbolic of the whole affair. In fact, there is a whole chapter in the history album on »Des Marches & Des Stars — Le Grand Escalier« (Stairs and Stars — The Grand Staircase), featuring a bevy of stars, dressed and half-dressed, who gloried for a brief moment in the fame of Cannes.

Take the 2000 Cannes festival, for instance. The year Lars von Trier’s Dancer in the Dark won the Golden Palm. The stairs on that evening was the talk of the festival. There, standing at the bottom of the stairs was a regal Catherine Deneuve, the doyenne of French actresses, quietly calming by her presence a nervous Björk, the Icelandic pop star, who had wrapped herself in a ballerina outfit as though attending a high school prom. That evening, the star of Dancer in the Dark may have been Björk, with Catherine Deneuve only the supporting actress in the role of a factory woman, but on this occasion their destinies seemed to be reversed.

Who will dominate the stairs with her presence this year? One, for sure. Cécile de France. She’s this year’s master of ceremonies, who will host the opening and closing galas in the Palais des Festivals. At the bottom of the stairs she will welcome the jury and its president Emir Kusturica, past winner of two Golden Palms. Of course, the French crowd on the Croisette will be delighted to see Cécile de France. Far more than just a shooting star, the striking beauty and accomplished stage talent was awarded a coveted César in 2003 for Best New Acting Talent and the Prix Louis Lumière for her role in Cédric Klapisch’s L’Auberge espagnole (The Spanish Inn).

At the top of the stairs on that evening will be the trio who set the tone, the style, the vision of the 58th Festival de Cannes: Gilles Jacob, president; Véronique Cayla, general manager; and Thierry Frémaux, artistic director. Gilles Jacob recently made French headlines when he announced a new program for the 2005 Cannes festival: »Tous les Cinémas du Monde« (All the Cinemas of the World), to be housed in a brand new edifice in the epicenter of the Village International, the film marketplace of the festival. To get the project off the ground, Jacob had to win the support of the Regional Council. An agreement was signed with Michel Vauzelle, President of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region.

According to a recent Cannes press release, »All the Cinemas of the World« is a program intended to foster the growth of auteur directors in all national cinematographies. Headed by Serge Sobczynski, a colleague of Véronique Cayla, the event will take place in a theatre designed by architect Patrick Bouchain that’s equipped with state-of-the-art facilities. The 2005 program offers to film professionals »a varied showcase of cinematographic creation« and serves to welcome delegations from around the world.

Another innovation at this year’s festival is the »Atelier du Festival« offshoot of the Cinéfondation program. The idea here is to support young filmmaking talent by choosing projects submitted to the Cinéfondation, now in its eighth year at Cannes. The »Atelier du Festival« is not to be confused with the »Résidence du Festival,« the latter being a four-month invitation to a half-dozen Cinéfondation filmmakers to stay in Paris for a give-and-take with recognized film professionals. This year’s brand new »Atelier du Festival« will welcome 18 filmmakers from as many countries for a three-day session (May 13-15) to present their »Project Brochure« to potential producers attending the Cannes festival. All 18 projects have gone online as of the end of March to facilitate a meeting schedule during the festival. Since the American project in the »Atelier« is Ryan Eslinger’s When a Man Falls in the Forest, watch for a hefty buzz at the American Pavilion in the International Village at the Marché du Film.

American director Alexander Payne, whose About Schmidt was one of the highlights of the 2002 Cannes festival, is back on the Riviera as President of the Un Certain Regard Jury. Iran director Abbas Kiarostami, whose The Taste of Cherry was awarded the Palme d'Or in 1997, is heading the Caméra d'Or Jury. If there is one tradition that is sacred at the Festival de Cannes, then it’s the iron-clad decision to keep the official competiting entries a secret until the official announcement is made at a press conference in Paris on April 20.

Meanwhile, speculation runs rampant. The FIPRESCI corps of international critics have a field day phoning inside sources for tips and under-the-table confirmations. Last year, Mike Leigh’s Vera Drake was an odd-on favorite to compete in Cannes. Instead, it ended up in Venice, where Vera Drake won the Golden Lion. Asked later by the French press as to whether or not he regretted the decision of Cannes to pass on Vera Drake, Thierry Frémaux was nonplused about the whole affair.

»We probably did Mike Leigh a big favor. Personally, I admire directors like Wim Wenders, who don’t play the festival roulette game. Look at his Cannes record: One year in the Cannes Competition, the next time around in the Un Certain Regard. If not at Venice or Berlin."

Want to know who is tipped to shine this year in the Cannes Competition? Try Michael Haneke’s thriller Caché (Hidden), a French production by the Austrian director starring Juliette Binoche and Daniel Auteuil. Why? Because Juliette Binoche would look lovely at the foot of Le Grand Escalier. And this is essentially what the Festival de Cannes is all about.

Ron Holloway