Cannes is a meeting place for film professionals from all over the world, and this spring saw a group of Film Academy Vienna students demonstrate how this city is also a pivotal hub for up-and-coming talents—as part of which they succeeded in making some important new contacts.
Year after year, the French film capital of Cannes attracts established movie stars from around the world as well as young film industry talents. And it’s not just film that’s of huge importance in this French city: at “Canneseries”, which functions as the equivalent of city’s renowned film festival for the series format, the project SHEEP by Alex Reinberg and Leni Gruber (both screenplay and directing) was chosen to receive the Student Award.
Film Academy Vienna students are among those for whom Cannes is an absolute mecca when it comes to presenting one’s own projects to a large audience. Early this year, a group of ten MA students from the Directing and Production programmes went on a field trip to the Côte d’Azur. Among them was Laurens Pérol, who arrived together with his co-author Joshua Jadi to introduce their cinematic feature film ELECTRIFIED. “The reason for this trip was to present our film project at selected industry meetings and find partners for the next steps. In Cannes, we were able to make lots of new contacts as well as attend film screenings and gala presentations,” remembers Laurens—and additional get-togethers with other film professionals from the domestic and international film industries rounded out their exciting and busy schedule there.
A special highlight for all who went along was the big première parties, including those of the two Austrian productions—Everytime by Sandra Wollner and Gentle Monster by Marie Kreutzer—which were both given their first screenings before a large audience. Meetings arranged specifically for the Film Academy Vienna delegation with film industry colleagues, including the Gentle Monster production team, made for further exchange in even greater depth and likewise facilitated new contacts. “Most of all, it was the opportunity to engage with other film professionals and colleagues from the national and international film industries that left us lastingly enthused,” says Laurens, who’s also happy that their approximately one-week stay in France has already resulted in new partnerships for further international collaborations.
Such a trip to the film capital is something that Laurens and his fellow travellers can wholeheartedly recommend to other film students: “Our excursion there was hugely beneficial in terms of gathering experience in a very safe environment.”
