Every morning, methodically, and at different times in the afternoon, two cleaners vacuum the red carpet in Cannes. Every day its central body is changed, the most beaten by the footsteps, that of the rosso tone -the sides are red theater-, especially by the stilettos, and it is recycled. It does not matter if it rains or the sun shines at the entrance of the Palace of Festivals: this covered entrance, with spotlights that allow the perfect lighting for portraits, hosts two or three red carpets every day, a compendium of performances, posturing, large investments of fashion and jewelry brands, modeling and, from time to time, of cinema. Sixty meters to glory, without which the Cannes festival would not reach the worldwide echo it enjoys for two weeks in May since 1946.
Aerial view of the Cannes red carpet.Andreas Rentz / POOL (EFE)
The geography of the Cannes red carpet, which has only been considered an official event since 1984, resembles a funnel, and the beginning is in the wide mouth. There, anyone who has a ticket for the gala session of one of the films in the competition, or for some of the special sessions (the rest of the teams of the other sections go through the carpet of the film in competition that is projected closest by schedule to its own session) gets off the cars of the organization. When descending the stars are a stand of public, which has made the relevant queue for hours before, asks for autographs and selfies, and a first group of photographers climbed on ladders of different heights.
Coco Rocha, Wednesday, May 24, in Cannes.Scott Garfitt (Associated Press/LaPresse)
And they enter the tube, the real red carpet, 400 photographers located on both sides of the carpet. It is the moment of dancing, of showing, of daring. While a journalist announces over the public address system who is approaching the 24 final steps that lead to the door of the palace, a DJanimates the promenade with music: half of the songs are chosen by him; the other half, the director of the film to be screened. On the first day, Maïween ordering The Clash's Should I Stay or Should I Go for her entrance seemed like a statement of her mood. Between the shouting, the music, the accumulation of celebrities and hilarious haute couture models, the show becomes intoxicating.
Pedro Almodovar, with his actors at Cannes.Vianney Le Caer (AP/Lapresse)
"I look for expressions, gestures," says Italian Fabrizio de Gennaro, a veteran of photography who, however, has only been working at Cannes for two years. And he shows a spectacular portrait of Robert De Niro at the Killers of the Flower Moon gala. De Gennaro covers all the red carpets and the photocall, the poses of the teams before the press, of the contest. "I take about 4,000 photos a day, and I have about 50 good ones left." He is placed in the middle of the stands, so he considers himself a "lucky", and all his shots in the French contest are for Cineuropa, a very popular online media in the industry. Next to him, in the press room set up for photojournalists, the German Christine Bluhm downloads her afternoon videos on her laptop. They have become laughing companions speaking in Italian, although Bluhm, much younger and living in Munich, comes from a different world. "It's my first year and I'm having a great time. I am specialized in luxury real estate, jewelry and fashion shows in New York and Paris, "he says. "I am independent and for Cannes I have been hired by Vogue Thailand." Both dress up: the red carpet can only be accessed by men in tuxedos and women in long suits: for two years shoes with heels are no longer mandatory.
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The carpet is also a loudspeaker of demands: Brazilian filmmakers have passed through it protesting against the repeal of the Government of Dilma Rouseff, there was a tide of green handkerchiefs demanding the legalization of abortion in Argentina, and the war in Ukraine was present last year and in this one. On Friday, police detained an activist who tried to sneak into the event wearing a dress in the colors of the Ukrainian flag and the message: "Fuck you, Putin." Three days ago, another Ukrainian influencer, Ilona Chernobai, tried the same thing, covered in fake blood. It was also intercepted, a fact that did not happen with the Russian model Victoria Bonya, who has launched numerous messages in favor of its president, including photos in Cannes with her posing in a swimsuit with Putin's face and a slogan of support.
Ester Expósito, entering the gala of 'Lost in the night'. LOIC VENANCE (AFP)
Every morning, free of charge, 17,000 copies of the Croisette Gala magazine are distributed in Cannes, a special edition that the French magazine Gala makes from the Majestic hotel, a hundred meters from the Palais des Festivals. There a newsroom of 30 people daily raise 96 pages printed on quality paper, which serve for their readers to see what happened on the red carpets of the previous day, as well as interviews and more cinematographic news, or reports on the night parties that are organized in the contest. Its manager, Carlos Gomez, explains: "Our pages start with those photos, those of the carpet, because it is what amuses people. We started in 2010, in a more gazette format, with 30 pages. It grew when the cinema entered the subjects, and then suddenly our advertising skyrocketed, coming from jewelry and fashion brands. At Croisette Gala youcan see the best portraits of the day." What does that carpet mean for the festival? "There's talk of the film industry, right? Well, the carpet means industry: beautiful people with expensive clothes, and with advertisers who want it to look pretty. The best films in history have been screened here for 75 years, but for the event to have its impact it needs this carpet".
An 'Old Oak' red carpet attendee tries to enter the red carpet with an anti-Putin messageYARA NARDI (REUTERS)
Croisette Gala measures, as a perfect thermometer, to know who is at the top of cinema and fashion. In his photos are seen, mixed, filmmakers (Elodie Boichez, Elle Fanning, Iris Law, Laura Harrier, Adéle Exarchopoulos, the Almodóvar boys, Viola Davis, Alicia Vikander, Aishwarya Rai, Michelle yeoh, Jennifer Lawrence, Cate Blanchett, Salma Hayek and dozens more), models (Thayna Soares, Sara Sampaio, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Naomi Campbell, Gigi Hayd, Coco Rocha, Irina Shayk or the omnipresent Alessandra Ambrósio) and all kinds of celebrities (Carla Bruni, Carolina de Monaco, Heidi Klum, Charlotte Casiraghi, Adriana Karembeau or a couple who have worn in Cannes: Romain Gavras and Dua Lipa). And it's just a few. Of all of them, who has triumphed this year? "Without a doubt, Lily-Rose Depp, it's in her blood. And one day he posed on what has been our best cover," says Gomes. Before the pandemic, Gala considered that the texts, which are published in French and English, were also in Chinese "because of the economic power of that market." That landing did not end up happening, and in this Cannes those who have returned have been the stars of Bollywood. For this report, EL PAÍS has contacted two major global fashion brands, which have declined to participate, although journalists receive emails daily from them explaining who wore their models the previous day.
Thierry Frémaux receives the 'May December' team at the end of the steps. GONZALO FUENTES (REUTERS)
And what do those who tread it feel? Actress Ester Expósito had stepped on the red carpet for the first time thanks to a fashion brand in 2021. Now he has done it as part of the cast of Lost in the Night, by Mexican Amat Escalante: "My whole time in Cannes has been a shot of energy, especially for someone like me, very cerebral. I wanted to get back on the carpet as a performer, and who was going to tell the Esther of two years ago that she would make it so soon."
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, on May 18, on the red carpet of 'Indiana Jones and the dial of destiny'. Mohammed Badra (EFE)
Director Pablo Berger presented Robot Dreams in a Special Session, and he did debut at the event: "All the carpets are similar in their dynamics, but the one in Cannes ends up in those stairs that look like those of The Battleship Potemkin, so you only think about not falling, and in the end the biggest influencer in the world of cinema awaits you, Thierry Frémaux. I arrived at the top without becoming a laughing stock or a viral video, and Frémaux greeted me very kindly. I entered through the same one that an hour later De Niro, Scorsese and DiCaprio passed, and surely we live the same emotion: the one that overwhelms you when, after years of work, you see your film on the big screen. " A regular on the red carpet, actress Paz Vega, has also passed through it in 2023, although her efforts have focused on presenting her first film as a director, Rita, which starts next Monday. At the festival, he said: "I've been treading it for two decades, and in itself it's nothing. Well, it's what there is, it's the place for sponsors, like in sport."
Replacement of the central section of the red carpet of Cannes.Guillaume Horcajuelo (EFE)
The impact of the red carpet cannot be gauge economically. But as Paz Vega recalls, "it has a certain impact on advertising; The brands see you, it gives a good image". And as Carlos Gomez confirms: "The Cannes festival could not survive only with great films that you will not see again in your life. He needs this walk of fame."
Lily-Rose Depp on the red carpet to present her series "The Idol" in Cannes.ERIC GAILLARD (REUTERS)
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