The Cannes American Pavilion Honors & Remembers

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Features

Published on Saturday, 25 May 2013 18:38

Written by Marian Masone

Part of the landscape of the Cannes Film Festival are a series of tents along the water, each one a "pavilion" dedicated to a national cinema, a regional cinema, and various international film organizations. You could spend time at just about every one, stopping by for the happy hours that almost every pavilion sponsors. The American Pavilion, known familiarly as AmPav, stands apart from just about every other pavilion, in that it charges a membership fee for entry and use of its facilities - which include computers, wifi, and fee copies of the International Herald Tribune (a godsend for those of us who are addicted to the New York Times daily crossword puzzle - and I know who I am!)

This year the pavilion was officially opened in a ceremony attended by former Connecticut Senator and current Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) chairman Christopher Dodd. Against the backdrop of the Mediterranean, he declared the venue open for business. And business does take place at the pavilion. While the aim may be to interact with the international community, walking through the pavilion on any given day it seems to be mostly Americans doing business with Americans.

AmPav also presents a wide array of panels, where various professionals discuss a series of topics. One of the more interesting panels was "Industry in Focus: Women in Film." Normally you hear the same stories again and again at these kind of film panels, but this was different. Panelists included Rosie Wong, head of the Sundance Film Festival industry office, Anne Hubbell and Amy Hobby, co-founders of Tangerine Entertainment, Kate Gerova, creative director of Birds Eye View, and moderated by Jacqueline Lyanga, director of AFI Fest.

Rather than complain about what's wrong with the industry vis a vis women, these industry pioneers spoke of inspiration (Amy Hobby reached back to Mary Pickford, the first female artist/producer, for inspiration) and positive new initiatives that go beyond empowerment. For instance, Tangerine Entertainment actively seeks out women directors and projects and makes them happen financially. And the talk demanded equal footing in all areas; myths about women and budgets were debunked: Anne Hubbell noted research that found no difference between women and men in the success or failure rate of filmmaking with equal budgets.

Roger Ebert was a longtime presence on the Croisette and on panels and talk at AmPav. His death earlier this year brought many tributes (the Hotel Splendid, where Ebert stayed for more than 30 years, honored him by naming his room the Roger Ebert Suite, with a plaque on the door - the only such plaque in the hotel). At the American Pavilion, Ebert was honored with an all-festival tribute. On Thursday, May 23, many people who knew Roger, or worked with him, or just loved his criticism, showed up at the pavilion for a photo call - a thumbs up in memoriam. A perfect way to pay homage.