On Flan, and biting the hand that feeds you.

One experience that was deemed necessary for me to try before I left Cannes was a slice of flan. Flan is a thicker, less sweet version of a custard tart, served in wedges at most of the food kiosks. It’s substantial enough to replace lunch, and sits in your stomach once ingested like a custard flavoured brick.
I asked Clive to document my first encounter with the delight of flan.

I’ve been musing on the viability of the Short Film Corner, and have come to a conclusion. Although we have been lucky enough to garner accreditation through the SFC, I’m not convinced it’s the best showcase for our wares. Here’s my thinking.

There are 1700 films in the SFC this year, and getting to see any of them involves a complex procedure, knowing the code of the film you want to see, then booking a booth to view it in. You provide your own advertising, and the only place you can put it is up in the SFC. The only people that can get to the SFC have to have accreditation, and they have to fancy a trip to the arse-end corner of the Film Market to view anything.

In other words, we’re in a ghetto, with no chance of getting our wares out to a wider audience.

I have a couple of suggestions. Firstly, use the screens dotted around the Corner to show some short films. There seemed to be one or two shorts, presumably with some kind of funding deal, showing on permanent rotation. That was it. Surely it would make more sense to show a random selection of the wide range of shorts on offer, or even just excerpts, complete with a ticker or overlay giving the reference number.

Second, give the public a chance to see the shorts for themselves. Set up a booth outside the Palais, or in the lobby of a hotel, and let the public check out some films. The technologies are there, and it’s in everyone’s best interest to give the huge amount of material (which must by definition have some worth as it’s been selected in the first place for Cannes) the exposure it deserves. And who knows, it might give a film-maker the break they’re asking for.