Karen Sproul’s Cannes: The Beginning

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Sproul-Cannes-2.jpgExit Films producer Karen Sproul on the Cannes Film Craft jury. Sproul, along with many jurors, is reporting exclusively for Campaign Brief.

After weeks of pre-judging and an excited buildup, I finally arrived in Cannes this afternoon.

I spent a few days in Marseille beforehand to get onto the timezone, as I didn’t fancy sitting in the jury room struggling with jetlag.  It’s a beautiful city with the old harbour at it’s heart, but I felt as though I was the only person not there for the Euro Finals.  Hordes of football fans from all over Europe would pour into the city, striding about, chanting their songs.  The day after a game, the city would empty out, deserted for a few hours, before the next group of fans replaced them – different jerseys, different chants.

When I arrived in Cannes, it seemed as though it was a similar vibe, except it was hordes of advertising fans that were streaming into town. And this time I was one of them.

It was a bit bleak when I got to my hotel, yes raining, urghhh!  I found myself hoping that this was the last we’d see of the rain.

I headed down to the Palais, to see what was happening there – the place was buzzing with everyone registering, and the first sessions of films had begun.  So many people from all over the world, extremely diverse, I hardly heard english being spoken at all.

The next thing I knew, suddenly there was a polar bear that had walked into our midst!  From behind, he seemed completely real, people were coming up to touch him, confused because they thought he was real, but realised he couldn’t be.  I saw one person touch him, and then proclaim him real!  People were fascinated, taking selfies with him, patting him – the size of him and the way he moved was incredible.

Sproul-Cannes-1.jpgNext I saw a big line for a Samsung Galaxy 7 / Gear VR 4D theatre test.  I would love to have tried it, but there were too many people waiting.  They seat you in a line of chairs, strap the headset on you, and send you literally on a rollercoaster ride.  The chairs moved up and down, side to side, and the group of people I saw were screaming and gasping and clutching onto their chairs.  So much so, that the Galaxy host said he wanted to take them all to NYC for an exhibition.  It was obviously incredibly real.

I got to try the poor man’s version – beside the main event, they had some cocoon chairs, where you could sit and test the VR headsets.  It was an underwater scene and the chairs swivelled 360 degrees, so you could see everything front, back, underneath and around you.  I have to say it was completely underwhelming – the pictures were not sharp, not interesting, and you could see where the stitching was so rough, that fish seemed to appear out of nowhere. 

Samsung has a big presence here, and I feel that VR is going to be a hot topic of the week, but I also feel it has a way to go.  It’s still very experimental, and people are still very much working it out. It’s going to be great for gaming though, especially if you can have one of those moving chairs in your living room, along with your headset.

Time for the first drinks event of the week – where I get to meet the rest of my jury members ….. then the week begins in earnest tomorrow – really looking forward to judging in collaboration with everyone, and seeing the level of achievement this year.