After my morning laps, I slipped out of my swimsuit and looked in the mirror, horrified. I raced out of the bathroom to show Agustin, “What the HELL is that?!” I demanded as I showed him the foreign sight. He smiled, “Those would be tan lines,” he patiently explained. I was stunned, “I have melanin?!” Fancy that.
You could really feel things winding down by Thursday. We took some final meetings at the Marche, though many of the booths were already abandoned. We ended early and partook of our daily sangria ritual with Nat, J and Ra who had a super busy day ahead. The good buzz on Birthday had resulted in a number of meetings and it was fun to see them all abuzz with the glow of imminent success. It’s so reassuring to see true talent and hard work being rewarded. We toasted to “teapots for us all!” which has become a mantra of sorts.
En route back to the villa, we stocked up at the seafood market for the evening’s pre-screening feast. It felt good to return to the bosom of our Cannes Indie family and dinner at home (shellfish, sausages, cheeses, bread and of course the endlessly flowing wine) was enjoyed as our growing family mingled, chatted and laughed.
The previous evening’s shorts had been sold out and we heard wonderful things about the films we missed (note to self: learn to teleport and, ideally, be at 2 places at once) I soon discovered kindred spirits in musician/filmmakers Thomas and Jillie Simon whose music video for their own unique version of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” had been part of the block. BTW, yes they secured permission and it’s nothing like you’d ever think. This is no mere cover song.
Thomas travels the world “recording with local musicians in Indonesia, Brazil, India, Middle East, etc. and utilizing all the tracks, turning those into rhythm/sound samples and fusing it with his take of alternative rock & xtc to create together with partner Jillie Simon” (description stolen from their myspace page) and it’s truly extraordinary.
Thomas explained he often recognizes familiar rhythms in traditional ethnic music that he then translates into a contemporary pop song. His partner Jillie adds her haunting vocals and the results are hauntingly beautiful. You can now check out their Teen Spirit Video ONLINE HERE.
The shorts were fun and we ran into Deon Hayman, whose charming The Don of Virgil High we’d caught at the NBC Universal Cuts festival last year (along with Iman Zawahry’s Tough Crowd. I mention this because we saw Iman’s follow-up film the super funny madcap comedy Undercover (about a Muslim cop sent undercover in a pig-napping case) at the Gasparilla International Film Festival back in March, which is where we saw another fun short called High Heels directed by Brett Carlson who, lo and behold screened his hysterical short Take My Wife this very night at Cannes Independent. Small world, eh? Brett was in attendance as well and we marveled how all roads lead back to the Gasparilla International Film Fest (with 5 fellow alum here in attendance at this fest.) Crazy.
Incidentally, keep your eyes open for the crazy comedy of Brett Carlson. His short is a sample for his feature and it was a total riot – imagine a Three’s Company-type miscommunication comedy of errors with the extremes and edge of The Hangover, yet told with a fresh and entertaining voice. I’d totally watch the feature.
After the shorts we saw Tales From the Catholic Church of Elvis, a one-woman-show-turned micro-budget feature, which looked great and had an interesting approach in its transition from stage to screen. Then there was some wine and discussion after before we headed down into town. We’d been told to check out the Grand Hotel’s bar, but in all honesty it wasn’t all that grand and I had a hankering for ice cream. Nat was dining with Ra and Aussie friend Jane who’d just flown in and texted suggesting we meet for an after dinner cocktail. Fortunately, we discovered a cocktail bar/ice cream place right off the Croisette and a place named Ginger’s would never be the same
Much wine and ice cream were consumed as plans for the remainder of the trip were discussed to an eclectic soundtrack ranging from early Michael Jackson to bad techno. I was sharing my philosophy on the healing powers of milkshakes when Nat declared, “Devi’s milkshake brings all the boys to the yard!” We giggled until suddenly, as if on cue, the last song ended and, Kelis’ hit Milkshake bellowed from the speakers. Whoa. “Use your power for good, “I cautioned her as we jammed in our booth. Synchronicity was running rampant.
By the time we returned home, the post final screening wine chat was still in full swing, so we joined before bed. I felt a bit sad as my head hit the pillow though. How could this all pass by so damn fast? I guess it’s good to leave wanting more, but did we really have to leave at all? I wondered as I drifted off to sleep, “How many lifetimes exist in a single life?” (incidentally – thanks, Richard! – hope you don’t mind I stole photos off your FB. We didn’t take NEARLY enough!)