Cannes Film Festival 2013: Red Carpet Diary

The South of France is a truly magic place, especially the towns of Province and French Riviera like Cannes, St. Tropez, Antibes, and Nice. One can even count Monaco as 'part' of the south of France, because it's only half an hour away from Nice by car and requires no 'hassle' to enter.

But while some of the towns in the Southern France are not as wide known, almost everyone, if not knows, then at least has heard about the town of Cannes. Most of this 'fame' is thanks to the Cannes Film Festival, which has been taking place each month of May for sixty-six years.

This year, from May 15th to 26th Cannes has become once again THE spring destination for both film fans, filmmakers and film stars...
The last time I was in Cannes was in 2010, and I happened to be there right after the 64th Cannes Film Festival has wrapped up. The feel of the festival was still in the 'air' - they haven't even yet removed all of the red carpet leading up to the festival's main building that stretches out along the Boulevard de la Croisette, which day and night turns into one mega showbiz pAAArty.

I've been a big fan of the Cannes Film Festival for years, because watching this particular festival is one of the best ways to find out about the foreign films, which usually wouldn't be shown in USA earlier than six-eight months after they premier at the Cannes Film Festival, so I take notes.

It's also one of the best ways to see the red carpet and leisure fashion from around the world, making a comparison among the foreign styles. I usually like seeing how the French celebrities choose to be dressed for the festival. And, of course, it sucks when the rain happens, especially on a big premier, like "The Great Gatsby":

So, what is Cannes? There's, actually, more to Cannes than the Cannes Film Festival, click here to find out what I mean.

In the meantime, here's a little photo-report of the attendees: from year to year the Red Carpet has been becoming more glamourous and international, unlike, for instance, The Oscar's ceremony, which even though being broadcasted all over the world, still makes much more accent on the American cinematography than on any other...

Or, see the red carpet appearances by a day:

Fan Bingbing in Louis Vuitton, Vahina Giocante in Elie Saab, Nicole Kidman in Christian Dior Couture, Naomie Harris in Calvin Klein, Zhang Yuqi in Ulyana Sergeenko Couture, Lana Del Rey, Freida Pinto in Gucci, Carey Mulligan in Christian Dior Couture, Isla Fisher in Oscar de la Renta, Solange Knowles in Stéphane Rolland Couture

Octavia Spencer in Tadashi Shoji, Freida Pinto in Sanchita, Emma Watson in Chanel Couture, Fan Bingbing in Elie Saab Couture, Zhang Ziyi in Carolina Herrera, Sonam Kapoor in Dolce & Gabbana, Sofia Coppola in Louis Vuitton, Audrey Tautou in Yiqing Yin

Fan Bingbing in Ulyana Sergeenko Couture, Doutzen Kroes in Atelier Versace, Eva Longoria in Zuhair Murad Couture, Berenice Bejo in Alexis Mabille Couture, Sara Forestier in Giambattista Valli Couture, Samantha Barks in Dior

• Lea Seydoux in Louis Vuitton, Liya Kebede in Roberto Cavalli, Cheryl Cole in Zuhair Murad, Carina Lau in Elie Saab Couture, Nieves Alvarez in Ralph & Russo Couture, Jane Fonda in Atelier Versace, Doutzen Kroes in Calvin Klein, Rooney Mara in Christian Dior, Solange Knowles in Roberto Cavalli, Jennifer Lawrence in Christian Dior
  
  
• Zoe Saldana in Emanuel Ungaro by Fausto Puglisi, Marion Cotillard in Christian Dior, Milla Jovovich in Chanel Couture, Aishwarya Rai in Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla, Zhang Yuqi in Roberto Cavalli, Zoe Saldana in Valentino, Zhang Ziyi in Valentino Couture

Alessandra Ambrosio in Roberto Cavalli, Jessica Chastain in Givenchy Couture, Liu Wen in Roberto Cavalli, Petra Nemcova in Elie Saab Couture, Kristin Scott Thomas in Armani Prive, Zhang Ziyi in Chanel Couture

Nicole Kidman in Valentino Couture, Kerry Bishe in Escada, Adele Exarchopoulos in Balmain, Lea Seydoux in Armani, Heidi Klum in Versace

I don't know why, but looking at the photos of the celebrities on the red carpet, the European actresses and actors look rather plain and simple against the old school glamour of the Hollywood counterparts.

But then again, if you know a thing or two about the way Europeans dress [I'd suggest reading the following book "Parisian Chic: A Style Guide" by Ines de la Fressange that talks in detail about the style of a French woman; this would help to understand the simple, but yet fashionable, personal style of an European woman], you wouldn't be as surprised to see by a rather more classically simple style of the Europeans in general.

Take, for example, the French actresses  Catherine Deneuve and Chiara Mastroianni and the Italian-Greek actress Valeria Golino, all of whom opted to go with the black basics, while Ludivine Sagnier, another French actress, opted for a rather simple dress in a classic yellow color - a color of the season:

Catherine Deneuve and Chiara Mastroianni

Ludivine Sagnier, Valeria Golino

Meanwhile, Kristin Scott Thomas and Audrey Tautou looked effortlessly simple as if they came by a garden tea party, both dressed in pastel colors...

And be sure to keep an eye on the so-to-speak 'new' foreign talents, which is not really new in Europe, but might be new to the American audience. I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot about Léa Seydoux, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Berenice Bejo, Jean-Sébastien Courchesne, and, Astrid Berges-Frisbey.

Léa Seydoux, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Berenice Bejo

Director Chloé Robichaud, Jean-Sébastien Courchesne, Sophie Desmarais, Astrid Berges-Frisbey, Johnny Depp