After an absence of twelve years, I returned to Cannes this year and had a chance to sit down with various film professionals and ask their unique perspectives on Cannes and the film industry. I was a bit trepidatious having been out of the international scene for a bit, but Sydney Levine and her partner Peter Belsito basically chided me into going. It was more than worth it and I can’t recommend it enough to anyone engaging in any aspect of international film business or media.
A couple of days into the festival it occurred to me that we had such an amazing mix of film industry leaders and innovators all in one place it might be interesting both for newer filmmakers and veterans alike to hear some thoughts from the people who really make the modern film business function. I came up with the following list and Sydney offered to feature the interviews on her film industry blog over at Indiewire. It’s not meant to be exhaustive, but seemed like many of the major cogs in the wheel would be represented. (Click the links to visit the original interviews over at Indiewire!)
Some of the people I spoke with you may have heard of and some not, but they have all done their time in the trenches and I hope their thoughts and opinions might help to open up more dialogue and debate on how to operate in the independent film industry.