The Festival de Cannes from a reclining beach chair

Guitars, rock stars, and reclining beach chairs. Nearly 1,200 people were in attendance last night on the Jean Macé beach for the screening of Rock’n’roll, …of Corse !, the documentary by Lionel Guedj and Stéphane Bébert on Henry Padovani, former guitarist for The Police. It was an opportunity to  take stock of this sixth season of the Cinéma de la Plage.
 
In 2004, when the Cinéma de la Plage was launched, the organisers of the Festival de Cannes wanted to give the citizens of Cannes a chance to reclaim a part of “their festival”. They hoped that the concept would help to lower the barriers that separate the red carpet from the asphalt on the Croisette by presenting grand classics as well as films that have not been previously released.  Twenty-four hours before the closure of the sixth edition, Gérard Camy, the manager of Cinéma de la Plage, was pleased with its success. “800 people have gathered here every evening since the opening of this 63rd Festival season,” he says. “The Cinéma de la Plage has become an integral part of the Festival.”
 
As far as the audience is concerned, this evident desire to make access to the Festival more democratic is increasingly popular. “The Cinéma de la Plage is the kind of cinema that comes to the people. It’s the rock’n’roll side of the Festival de Cannes,” says one spectator. “This concept is a lot like our documentary,” explains Stéphane Bébert, one of the two directors of Rock’n’roll, …of Corse ! “This gratuitousness, that is the cinema as well.”
 

B.P.