The Cannes Film Festival is one of the most publicised cultural events — and purportedly the world's most prestigious film gathering. But do you know what led to the birth of this festival?
In 1938, the Venice Mostra, the first international competition dedicated to the film world, saw a gathering of major pre-war film-producing countries. An American film was set to win a major award, but under pressure from Hilter and Mussolini, the jury had to change the winner and nominate a Nazi propaganda documentary. The episode prompted French diplomat Philippe Erlanger, who attended the festival, to come up with a film festival free of political pressure, thus giving birth to the Cannes Film Festival in 1946.
Cut to 2024. Are we doing justice to what Cannes stands for — celebrating films? Or has the focus now shifted to brand endorsements and social media traction? Nowadays, headlines are more about influencers, actors, and their outfits. Why aren't we talking about the movies, actors, writers and directors, who form the crux of the festival?
Amidst the ongoing debate about fashion overshadowing films The Quint spoke to actor Abhilash Thapliyal and director Shaunak Sen to know how they feel.
'India Should Be Represented Through Films In Festivals, Not What You Are Wearing'
Aspirants actor Abhilash Thapliyal said that despite his movie Kennedy being screened at the festival last year, he had to pay for the flights and accommodation.
"Last year, when we took our film Kennedy to Cannes, I paid for my stay and flight tickets. On the other hand, you see people whose films aren’t even being screened, but they are walking the red carpet, being sponsored and celebrated. They say we represent India, but who are these Indians who have said they are representing India? The representation should happen through films, and not what you are wearing."Abhilash Thapliyal
He added that everyone who can has the freedom and right to attend film festivals like Cannes, but people should not forget what the festival is meant for. "The focus should be on stories and films that are being screened, that’s why film festivals exist. They are not fashion shows, rather stories should matter. This shift is problematic."
Director Shaunak Sen, whose film All That Breathes won the Golden Eye Award last year, said,
"A lot of the reportage from India presents a slanted view, which takes away the limelight from films. There's a kind of myopic vision just focusing on other people walking on the red carpet. I am coming with a disclaimer, the attention shift is the coverage by Indian publications. I have no grudge or issue at all towards anybody going there, whether it be content creators or influencers. The main thing is to try and not displace attention from the central core of the festival, which is cinema. The makers of cinema need to be respected and I hope there comes a time when everybody can visit the festival."
Filmmaker Kanu Behl, whose film Agra was screened last year, opined that there should be some support given to Indian films. Speaking to Hindustan Times in 2023, Kanu said, "The biggest challenge is that there is no structural support for a certain kind of film in India, in spite of a lot of people popping up at Cannes and saying Indian films are shining. But at the red carpet the filmmakers are nowhere to be seen. Bollywood divas and influences are all present but where are the filmmakers who are actually representing your cinema at Cannes?"
'Reportage In India Makes It Seem Like Filmmakers Are Consigned to Corners'
Shaunak also said that despite the discontent about the shift in focus, prestigious festivals like Cannes do offer independent filmmakers a platform to showcase their work and network with distributors.
"For independent filmmakers, the main thing about a film festival is that by going there you hope to get a distributor, somebody who buys the film – be it an OTT platform or a theatrical distributor. For independent films that is not studio backed, festivals become the place where they can be showed to a variety of people, from sales agents to distributors. This is where you hope a film gets picked up for a wider distribution."Shaunak Sen, Filmmaker
However, Shaunak said, "From the outside when you are reading entertainment newspapers in India, it might seem that filmmakers are consigned to marginal corners and influencers have taken over. When you are there, to be fair, this is a festival which gives tremendous respect to filmmakers and auteurs."
'There Should Be Some Support System For Those Who Don't Have Resources to Attend Such Festivals'
Owing to budget constraints, not many actors or the crew can travel to festivals to attend screenings of their films, and not everyone has the resources to pay for themselves. Abhilash said, "Some production houses who make these films are small, they don't have big budgets. So there are always constraints."
He explained that invitations are mostly extended to the director and a couple more actors of the film, so one has to go through a lot of struggle to get there.
"People who are already famous and have the money and resources get a lot of support, and people who lack resources don’t get any support. The brands should think about this. They should support these filmmakers, the cast and crew, and that will also empower them to create more films. I think people who are making films and representing India in the truest sense should be given a chance. Maybe in the beginning they won’t get that kind of traction, but it will be a path-breaking move for the brands."Abhilash Thapliyal, Actor
Differing on this Shaunak said, "I don’t want to be too much of a purist because the festival is big and attracts all kinds of people. The main point of discussion is crew members not being able to attend. However, one shouldn’t blame the festival because it's not like any other festival in the world is paying for the director and other people."
"It would be nice though to have support from cultural institutions. If there are institutions that are funding or sponsoring the travel of people not connected to the film industry, I think it would be really wonderful if there was a cultural corpus or a national grant that could be created for film people too, that would allow not just the director but additional members of the crew to travel to major film festivals," he added.
Actor Sahana Goswami, whose film Santosh was screened at Cannes this year, told film critic Sucharita Tyagi in an interview, "We all come with a budget. We have to dress up, network and travel as well. Sometimes I wish there was a better structure to support people, because the irony is that most people who make independent films are also much poorer than a lot of people who are in the business. Not everybody can afford to make their way to Cannes, and it’s a shame. I understand that they can only account for that many people and we thankfully have our producers and people are there to support us, but sometimes even producers don’t have the money either. So, we need to have money for sponsorships and people. I think we should try and create a space to have a grant, like where financiers can come in put their money in, sponsorships, whatever, and its like a fund for anybody going."
What Does The Internet Have to Say About Films Not Getting Due Importance?
A lot of people also took to social media to express their discontent about influencers getting more attention in film festivals than movies.
While the jury is still out, we hope a better system is put in place where more people who are creating movies get a chance to attend film festivals like Cannes.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)