Nesta Morgan

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This year’s Cannes sketches took off with the European Audiovisual Observatory, where the panelists discussed A Fistful of Euros and The Future of Film Financing in Europe.

I envisioned the creative inability to access finance markets, the digging of consumer trenches with no fiscal incentives where the players in the common landscape seemed to evolve from crowd funders. People participating in works of art is important to the health of society, and intellectual property rights is important to a 60 billion euro loan in a Juncker plan package, we need an eco system of financing, a sweet tax and a Market share.

Todd Haynes film “Carol” was the next sketch at the UK Film Centre, with Killer and Number 9 Films, Women in film and a happy ending.
Then off to the Variety and UN Women #HeForShe sketch as they took to the stage in discussing Gender Equality within the Film industry,  how cinema undermines intention and is a powerful economic force, it’s pedigree, like Polo, and we all need to think (in relation to the equality of women) beyond the word f…  as a male role was quoted as having said in studio “you could bottle the dried up eggs here!” - one lady on the panel said, we should be grateful for gay men, without them it could be even worse! This was an entertaining talk with leading ladies Elizabeth Nyamayaro for the UN, actress/producer Salma Hayek, Parker Posey, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and “Carol” filmmakers Christine Vachon and Elizabeth Karlsen with Variety’s own Michelle Sobrino and Claudia Eller leading a heartfelt discussion on our role in the industry (sponsored by watchmakers Frederique Constant’s gift to charity of a beautiful timepiece for ladies).

Elizabeth Nyamayaro (UN), actress/producer Salma Hayek, Parker Posey, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and “Carol” producers and filmmakers Christine Vachon & Elizabeth Karlsen with Variety’s own Michelle Sobrino (publisher) and Claudia Eller (co-editor-in-chief).

Jordan Screen Advantage, Producing Without Borders sketch with the Producers Guild of America was a fast and entertaining talk by gentlemen leaders in the film world as Craig Emanuel talked as an attorney with passion, Antoine de Cazotte, a living breathing animal and Gareth Wiley claimed to cry at breaking a cookie.

The Brooklyn Talent Talk at the UK Film Centre saw Susan Mullen, Wendy Mitchell of The British Council and Screen International, Fiona Dwyer and Pierre Even talking great stories with great characters and like minded people with tales of Harvey Weinstein calling at 3am in the morning, the involvement of 13 financial partners and the best cotton sheets at a hotel all being a natural fit to the production.

Susan Mullen, Wendy Mitchell (British Council and Screen International), Fiona Dwyer and Pierre Even - the Irish film board and Telefilm Cananda sharing great stories with great characters and like minded people!

Next sketch was Animaze and Horyou, who asked if Animation would change our world, so picturing some natural Spanish kids play (drawing child Picassos), a culture conception ideology with Laurie and Bruno dining in a theatre sharing a couple of movies with tapas “spanish style” and Peanuts in a glass box, we capture the children’s minds, and hope animation can save the world!

Laurie Gordon (Animaze festival) and Bruno Chatelin indulge in a spanish style movie session with tapas Peanuts and capture the children's minds!

A sketch at The Talent Talk with Steve McQueen: The Mans and Le Mans presented a film by Gabriel Clarke and John McKenna put together with 600 boxes of film and a long road of editorial!

Gabriel Clarke and John McKenna talk to Damon Wise on the journey to make their movie and the 600 boxes of film on the way there.

A Pixar animation and Dreamworks sketch outlined that creativity is not linear, suggesting the walls of film footage are measured as animated walls per square foot to create the animated landscape.

Clare Stewart (BFI), Liz Rosenthal (Power to the PIxel), Adrian Wootton (CEO Film London BFC) -The Three Tips and Strategy!

London is Business sketch with Clare Stewart, Liz Rosenthal and Adrian Wootton offered the 3 Tips and Strategy to film making, the talk was followed by The Production Finance Market and The International market where Ian Hutchinson declared his objective was to get control primarily, Angus Finney declared one might need a certain amount of fertilisation (recall the UN Variety sketch, perhaps gentlemen should bottle those eggs!), Emma Slade talked the One Stop with general knowledge and principal, and Alice de Sousa stated to be in film is to be fortunate, that it was terrifying but you need to practice pitching.

Ian Hutchinson, Angus Finney, Emma Slade, Alice de Sousa.

The Coutts annual Boules tournament was a sporting pitch distraction, I was happy to picture both Rene and Gerard, the french umpires of the game in full stride amongst the melange of producers en scene.

HP: Helen O'Hara, Kylie Flavell, Susie Wilson, Komal Minhas, Grace McPhilipps, Kate Perotti.

HP Cutting Edge Collaborators sketch: Women achieving in film declared stories from men and women equal live action! with panelists going live on periscope, camera backpackers with heatstroke, sun dancer dream girls stripping resources from you porcupines - not the hollywood model but gypsy style; and a scary note to end on, punk mums in cinema. Chose your mentor, we are the wave!

The sketch was followed by the Scottish Talent development with Initialize Film’s Ian Davies, Paul Welsh, Eddie Dick and Eva Riley, figureheads of Scottish production dripping with creative solutions and a top warm up to the Scottish Whisky tasting event, Auchentoshan style.

 

Stage 32 Amanda Toney and Richard Botto
I characterised Stage 32 at the Next Pavillion as the Social Safe for filmmakers with placards to donate a location, an actor, another charity crowd, nature beauty buffs and some vegan vegers for promotion on Air Wave platforms, Air Wave exchange, Advertisement free, and an educational discount. One must identify a list of thanks, tangerine dream intangibles, honour flight, selfless content, gravity, and networking tips such as firstly Meet and ask 3 things of your maker, drop the shoulders, crowd source, get gear heads, get fancies and sell out! to i tunes, charts, with passions and tangerines to close the circle social media, a 50% honing craft for Social Platform Sales, donate and take a social dive! and remember to keep a focus list.

3 minutes, 1 Shot, now Pitch! Visualise the Gold, you can only do it once. Carter Pilcher, Ken Carlson, Elizabeth Brown (Bird Flight Films)

The UK Film Centre 3 minute Pitch: One Shot Now Pitch! Award went to Salvation with a £5000 cheque, and a tag line ‘Visualise the Gold, you can only do it once!”

Onto A Fashion Sketch of Zeina Nabulsi who is is a stylist in general inspired by Elie Saab, flowers and pastels, weather, Grace Kelly, Nicole Kidman, the polka dot concealing figures, and capable of furnishing a closet in the Majestic Hotel like a clothing treasure trove.
I went to see the Fourth Direction, Chauthi Koot and The Son of Saul to reimagine the cinema, and closed with a John C Reilly and Alison Dickey sketch, calling this Cannes “La Glace at le Ciel”.

Nesta Morgan
www.art4film.com/cannes