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Tuesday, March 19, 2024

From the red carpet to the drive-in at Cannes

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From the red carpet to the drive-in at Cannes
From the red carpet to the drive-in at Cannes

The Riviera resort of Cannes should have been playing host to the world's biggest names in film.

Instead, with its annual film festival postponed and the red carpet rolled up, locals made do with a drive-in cinema in a beachfront car park.

Emer McCarthy reports

It should be hosting one of the world's most prestigious film festivals.

But the French Riviera resort town of Cannes has been transformed - swapping the red carpet for a drive in cinema on its iconic beachfront.

Gone are the designer gowns and A-list celebrities, with movie goers getting cozy, settling in for a nostalgic screening of Spielberg's classic- ET the Extra-Terrestrial.

"We've got all we need.

We have popcorn, we have food, we're in the first row, and this is our first time, so it's going to be great." The annual film festival was scheduled to take place from May 12-23.

It is not the first time the festival has been postponed.

Its inaugural event in 1939 was cut short after the opening screening of the "Hunchback of Notre Dame" because of Germany's invasion of Poland.

It was also interrupted in May 1968 as protests swept across France.

Cannes mayor David Lisnard says the drive-in is a way of paying tribute to the town's rich cinematic history.

"Of course, we're doing this during the festival season.

It's an homage to say that Cannes loves the festival and the cinema.

All year round, we'll hold this type of festival to say that we miss the movies."

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