Attend the Cannes Film Festival

“During one of my final days in Cannes, I somehow scored a ticket to the restoration of Jacques Demy's masterpiece, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, which has been my favorite French movie for years. It's a movie I've seen a hundred times, but there was something special about seeing it in France, in a theater named after the director's wife, surrounded by people who loved it as much as I did. By the time the credits rolled, I couldn't help myself from shedding a tear. It was the single most unforgettable film experience I've ever had, and it was as if I was seeing it all for the first time.”

“I was fortunate enough to see over a dozen incredible films, but a lot of those only came from going on the ticketing website at 3am and refreshing 100 times until a single ticket became free. The largest venue at Cannes, The Grand Lumiere Theater has a capacity of around 2,300 people, and over 35,000 people attend Cannes each year, and a good portion of seats at screenings are reserved in advance for industry personnel. So getting into a screening can feel like a rat race, especially if it's a premiere. But when in doubt, you'll always be able to catch Cinema De La Plage screening every night on a nearby beach, which were always the perfect ending to a great day of film.”

“I did one world premiere, All We Imagine as Light, so not a popular one with known celebrities or directors. We spent about 2 hours in the stand by line and got in pretty easily. That was also a premiere at like 9, 10 pm so it was a bit easier to get into.”