The Cannes Film Festival & Creative Minds

I made it to the 2012 Festival de Cannes! Overall, it was a wonderful experience. 

Highlights:

• my internship with Panorama, the international sales branch of Annapurna Pictures
• meaningful networking experiences with industry professionals
• representing and screening the film Prodigal (written and directed by Darryl Wharton-Rigby) at the Short Film Corner
• enjoying numerous short films such as Lucy Contra Los Limites de la Voz and features such as Lawless (starring Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy)
• meeting aspiring filmmakers and actors from all over the world
• walking the red carpet at the premiere of Mud (and seeing writer/director Jeff Nichols as well as the cast, including Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon)
• being around actors such as Alec Baldwin, Jackie Chan, and Cuba Gooding, Jr. (whom I actually talked with for a few minutes at the Carlton Hotel Restaurant)
• trying gourmet French cuisine
• experiencing Cannes, France: the La Croisette area, where the festival is held and the community of La Bocca, where my hotel was located
• the beautiful Côte d'Azur (the French Riviera) 
• visiting Rome, Italy briefly 
• trying gourmet Italian cuisine

Photos

Click on a photo for a larger image (slideshow). 
 

Côte d'Azur (The French Riviera)

Jackie Chan in Project A at Cinema de la Plage (on the Riviera beach)

Madagascar 3 billboard on the pier

me with gelato and souvenirs in front of the Riviera beach

La Croisette and the Palais

65th Annual Cannes Film Festival dedicated to the late Marilyn Monroe

the international pavillions

Cannes historical tour "bus"

my internship building entrance

Prodigal, the film I screened and represented in the Short Film Corner

entrance gate for chorus and balcony sections at the Grand Lumiere theater (in front of the Red Carpet)

Le Cafe by Vesuvio

 

one of several shots I took inside the chorus section in the Grand Lumiere theater at the premiere of Mud

La Bocca

outside the hotel

From Cannes to Nice Côte d'Azur Airport

Rome (Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport)

SPECIAL THANKS

Above all, I thank GOD!

I would also like to thank everyone who contributed to my Cannes experience in any way, including: 

My family
Melita Mitchell
Titilayo Akanke
Kimberly Lacey
Faith, Hope & Victory Christian Church
David Hall 
Keith Mehlinger
Dolan Hubbard
Darryl Wharton-Rigby
Adele Newson-Horst 
Tamala Stuckey 
Nicole Watford 
David Wilson 
Robert Matunda
Meena Khorana 
Denise Jarrett
Renee Latchman 
Judy White
Mbare Ngom
Dwain Pruitt 
College of Liberal Arts, Morgan State University
Department of English, Morgan State University

These people have made contributions to my fundraising effort and/or have helped me find other resources in order to make it to Cannes. Some people have asked that their names not be listed. 

Thank you so much!

Announcement

Dabian "Yari" Witherspoon, a graduate student of film and screenwriting in the Department of English at Morgan State University, has been accepted by the the Creative Minds in Cannes “Internship Experience” Program at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival!

Cannes, one of the largest international film festivals, will be held May 14-28, 2012. To date, the festival has involved thousands of participants, film screenings, companies, producers, and buyers; as well as hundreds of exhibitors and representatives from more than seventy countries. In addition to film screenings, the program offers workshops, networking activities, opportunities for participants to work internships with companies in the film and television industry, and a platform for filmmakers to create a short film that is showcased and critiqued by professionals. Contestants make contacts that assist them in establishing careers in the film industry.

The Creative Minds in Cannes program involves three components: “The Filmmaker Institute,” “The Network Connection,” and “The Internship Experience.” “The Filmmaker Institute” allows filmmakers to create a five minute film that is entered into the “We Made It In Cannes” competition for which the top three teams of producers are awarded prizes. Those contestants also attend daily workshops and master classes hosted by industry icons that enable them to expand their knowledge of the business. 

“The Networking Connection” allows actors, journalist, and general participants to pitch ideas, and attend networking events and workshops.

“The Internship Connection,” for which Dabian has been accepted, affords participants an opportunity to work closely with a film or television company relevant to their career goals, and provides follow-up assistance with “post festival job securing,” or the possibility of employment with the company with whom a relationship was established during their internship. 

As only 50 interns are selected from applicants worldwide, involvement at this level is offered to a select few. 

 

THE INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE INCLUDES:

• PRE-FESTIVAL ORIENTATION

• TOUR OF CANNES

• 15 NIGHTS OF ACCOMMODATIONS

• BREAKFAST & LUNCH (LUNCH IS COMPED BY “INTERN HOST COMPANY”)

• CELL PHONE

• INTERNET ACCESS

• ROUND TRIP SHUTTLE TRANSPORTATION BETWEEN AIRPORT & HOTEL

• SETTING UP OF THE INTERNSHIP

• INVITATION TO SHORT FILM COMPETITION SHOWCASE

• INVITATION TO SHORT FILM SHOWCASE AFTER PARTY

• WRAP PARTY

• CREATIVE MINDS STAFF ON CALL FOR CONSULTATION & TROUBLESHOOTING

• CREATIVE MINDS IN CANNES PROGRAM T-SHIRT

• ASSISTANCE WITH POST FESTIVAL JOB SECURING

• CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION

• SCHOOL CREDIT FOR WORKING THE INTERNSHIP

For further information about the Creative Minds in Cannes program visit: www.creativemindsincannes.com.