Cannes 2025 highs and lows

Reunited with Harris Dickinson to talk Urchin, one of my top 10 films at Cannes

As usual, my Cannes recap with some joyful moments as well as the reality check that follows. Not meant to be real complaints, just a laugh about what really goes on behind the scenes.

Cannes Highs

Well it starts and ends with the films – I saw more than usual. My 10 favourites, in alphabetical order: Die, My Love; The Great Arch, Imago; The Love That Remains; My Father’s Shadow; Pillion; Romeria; Sentimental Value; Sirat; and Urchin. Many more on my wish list to see later.

Moderating lots of amazing talks – my favourite thing to do!  Here are a few talks that are online: Urchin team including my BFFs Harris Dickinson and Archie Pearch (watch here) and Pillion writer/director Harry Lighton (watch here). Most of the other talks I moderated aren’t online but trust me they were interesting.

The Palm Dog prizes (full info and photos here) going to some truly amazing winners, Panda from Iceland’s The Love That Remains, Pipa and Lupita from Sirat and Rosie and Hippo from Pillion. And an interview I did with top dog Toby Rose.

Also did interviews with Claes Bang (ahem), Tarik Saleh and Fares Fares, Sverrir Gudnasson -- you can listen to podcasts here and here. Even got to interview Mads Mikkelsen poolside at the Zentropa villa and he’s as charming as you hope (that story will come out later this year).

Needed help with a minor issue with the festival’s hospitality team and they were wonderful to deal with. There really are some nice people working at the festival if you find them (even the security guards seemed somewhat nicer this year!)

Visiting Lorianne and Grimar on their boat.  An annual highlight, those two know how to do Cannes RIGHT.

I’m lucky to be a moderator at Cannes Producers’ Network – bringing together so many brilliant experts for intimate roundtable talks every morning. Just wonderful, collaborative vibes from a truly global cohort. A great way to start the day, and it means I can cheekily eat canelles for breakfast every day.

MC’ing the Screen Global Production Awards with a fun crowd. Winners here

Bumping into those REAL friends who take one look at your exhausted face and give you a BIG hug even if you don’t have time to properly catch up.

Best swag - the fisherman's rainhat from Frøya, Norway (pictured below) that actually kept me a bit dry in the rain later that night. A lovely totebag from The Love That Remains, an EFM powerbank that helped me recharge, a gift of fruit cocktail sweets from Film i Vast (an inside joke).

The EPIC Nordic Dance Party on the Monday night coincides as the night I feel I can finally let loose – all my moderating ends just before this party. The DJ competition was in full swing: shout outs to IFFR for playing Bon Jovi’s Livin’ on a Prayer, Toronto playing Peaches' F The Pain Away, Sarajevo playing Not Like Us by Kendrick Lamar and Berlinale playing 99 Luftballoons. Most of the rest sounded like a lot of dodgy club music noise to my aging ears. But I had a small boogie.

Even before Cannes I got to meet some fascinating producers who were bringing their first features to Cannes – what an accomplishment! Fascinating people – story here.

The Screen Garden was a new oasis in the middle of town.

When you're at a beachclub party and someone shows you a SECRET LOO without a queue and it’s like having the keys to the kingdom.  

Meeting some inspiring new people - not just for 2 minutes but for real conversations.

Working with Screen on their roundtable about Nigerian cinema – Nigeria is close to my heart after running a British Council project there some years ago. A passionate discussion with some SMART people – read a recap here.

Again collaborating with Cannes Investors Circle to curate the talks before their pitches, Loved seeing how much the Marche's Aleksandra Zakharchenko has grown this initiative to be so important and well curated. Read about Cannes Investors Circle here - world class filmmakers!

My Airbnb a) wasn’t a scam b) had a terrasse c) had fast wifi and d) I never lost the keys.

Discovering the lemon cake at Le Vrai Gout Du Pain.

Attended a special lunch to meet some rising talents at Cannes Makers. I didn’t even know this initiative existed, 10 future leaders from around the globe. And a delicious vegetarian lunch on a day I really needed some vegetables. We even got to celebrate the 28th birthday of one of the participants. Thanks Alice Kharoubi for the invite, it was really cool to meet this next generation.

We all know so many Cannes restaurants are overrated and overpriced, so what a delight that one of my faves, Tuk Tuk Thai, has moved to a bigger location closer to the Palais. After so much jambon et fromage, SO good to get some Thai spice. And the friendliest service in Cannes. But you can’t all go next year because I still need to get a table.

Touring around UK and Nordic meetings and having a laugh with my bosses from San Sebastian, Jose Luis Rebordinos and Lucia Olaciregui. They do about 20 meetings a day and still have a smile on their faces and a sense of humour. I’m lucky to be a little part of their team.

Made my annual pilgrimage to the Molinard parfumerie and the Anglo- French pharmacy on the Rue d’Antibes – always treat myself to a few bits after working so hard.

I managed one glorious swim in the sea the morning of my last day.  And then ate a warm pain au chocolat on the beach.

Coming home to big love and attention from the husband and the cat, thankfully only one of them demands attention by standing on my head at 3 am.

Cannes Lows

Cote d'Azur glamour? Even a sturdy Norwegian rainhat can't save me from a 25 minutes walk in THAT crazy rainstorm

Got caught in an epic downpour (so epic they closed the airport) with my umbrella of course across town in the Screen office.  Absolutely SOAKED and walked around with wet shoes and socks all day carrying a wet jumper in a bag. Somehow I think Juliette Binoche doesn't have to do such things.

NEVER enough time to see all the friends and interesting people you’d like to spend time with. Literally 100s of people I really like that I didn’t get to even say hi to or have to run past while running late to meetings.

I did try to schedule a bit less stuff but then new stuff pops up while you're there, I may never learn you need a half empty diary going into Cannes to make room for the surprises.

Almost missing my flight home because 4 Uber drivers cancelled on me after taking the booking. One cheeky Uber driver called me to say he’d take the booking if I gave him an extra 50 Euro tip -- Err, illegal. But after more than an hour panicking I did get to the airport just on time.

There is always one day when you forget to wear deodorant.

Having about 40 people say, "hi Wendy" and I have ABSOLUTELY no recollection who they are.  Not even vaguely familiar. I’m not saying this to sound popular, it’s genuinely no fun to not know who seems to know you!

I only had one cry this year (this is pretty good odds for Cannes and definitely better than my tear-count when I edited Screen dailies.) It happens when we’re overly tired.

Didn't make it to my fave Italian place nor to Marche Forville bakery to get my fave raisin bread. Never even had an Aperol Spritz (thankfully sunk a few pints with friends however).

We spend the first week asking how long everyone is in town and the second week just saying how tired we all are – next year I’m going to TRY in those final days, when people ask you how you are, not to say ‘tired’ but to say ‘full of ideas’ or something clever or just say "the best film I've seen is Sirat" or something more interesting than exhausted.

I got stuck so high up in the balcon of the Lumiere for one film that I couldn't read the English subtitles and had to leave -- what's annoying is that I could read perfectly the French subtitles which are brighter and higher (but somehow my 10th grade French wasn't enough to get me through! Quel dommage!)

The Festival Programmers of the world gathering on Tues night is just the perfect way to start the festival. Thanks to the gang who organises led by Frederic Boyer.

I got sad even tossing out half a bag of kiwis and yogurts I didn’t manage to eat in my flat when I left (somehow all the chocolate biscuits got eaten!?), and if we think about all those offices throwing out food, and all those stands throwing out materials, there is a lot of unnecessary waste in Cannes.

Cannes is expensive, especially when you are paying entirely for your own trip as a freelancer. Oh well, life's not all about money.

Donned some fancy new earrings to host that awards show and found out I left the giant price tag on them :) thanks Flo at the panini stand for telling me before anyone noticed.

That ticket system - holy moly! – before we even get to Cannes we’re waking up literally at 5:58 am every morning in the UK to apply for tickets only to find out at 6:01 am they are all sold out. HOW?! I’m so lucky I still have a press badge, and a pink one which is decent, but still it’s so hard to get tickets even to press screenings.

Realising one meeting is over by La Pizza and the next one is by the Martinez and there’s a screening loading in at the Palais and f’ing, gawping slow-walking tourists and you're never going to be anywhere on time.

I only had what I’d consider about 6 proper sitdown meals in Cannes, which is not a great stat for a 10 day trip. Sometimes cereal for dinner at 10 pm is the only option.

Going to the corner shop at 1 am to buy bleach because the bathroom drain in my flat smelled so bad (gross I know).

Feeling sad cause real friends didn’t invite you to their film party. And then realizing you wouldn’t have even had time to go to the party so why the F are you pouting about it - grateful to the lots of lovely parties that I am invited to and mostly have to skip anyway.

Realising I'm too old to function on 5 hours of sleep (not after partying, just after late films and early emails!)

Did a bad job with my fake tan and my feet looked like streaky bacon.

The indignity of working at the outdoor tables at McDonald’s just because they have great wifi and sometimes you just need the Internet quickly.

Realising that none of these small complaints matter when a man nearly died because of a falling palm tree. I hope he is recovering well.

See you at Cannes 2026

So….with the wins and the fails, I’m still pinch-myself lucky that I have my Cannes family. Thanks to everyone who made it special and to the filmmakers that are the reason we’re all there. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.