The magic of Cannes: Where cinema finds it soul

The magic of Cannes: Where cinema finds it soul

 

Every May, a sleepy stretch of the French Riviera wakes up and slips into a sequined gown. For 12 days, Cannes becomes a world unto itself — a blur of black-tie premieres, rosé-fueled conversations, and films that leave you going ‘wow’ or wordless or both.

 

But here’s the thing they don’t always tell you. Beneath the high-octane glamour, the real pulse of the Cannes Film Festival beats with something quieter, older, and more urgent. It’s a shared reverence for the art of storytelling. 

 

If one is heading to Cannes for the first time in 2025, one is not just attending a film festival. One is stepping into a fever dream where the line between make-believe and reality gently dissolves.  

 

My friend Esha Dutta whose family produced “Aranyer Din Ratri” told me that she was unable to attend the film premier in Cannes because of her dog’s sudden illness and if I want, I can go in her place.  It did not take me a second to say yes, firstly because my summer vacation plans to Chail had already been cancelled because of the situation at the border at that time and I had nothing much in my diary.  But the toughest for me was to get a comfortable flight to land directly at Nice Côte d'Azur Airport but last moment, I was able to manage that as well.  My hotel contacts were good enough to secure a room for me and I was there well in time for the screening of “Aranyer Din Ratri” 

 

This year, the festival’s mood feels especially layered. It’s a collage of past, present, and whatever’s hurtling towards us next. The curtain rises with Leave One Day (Partir un jour), a vibrant musical comedy-drama by French director Amélie Bonnin. Following it is an eclectic mix of cinematic voices, from Ari Aster’s metaphysical thriller Eddington to Julia Ducournau’s provocative sci-fi Alpha to Wes Anderson’s meticulously crafted mystery The Phoenician Scheme. But for us, the most special moment this year arrives quietly, in monochrome. A restored Indian classic reminds us of what cinema was and still could be.

 

There’s something almost mythical about Satyajit Ray returning to Cannes. His 1970 gem Aranyer Din Ratri (Days and Nights in the Forest), a film so subtle it hums, is being screened in the Cannes Classics section. It has been beautifully restored by Shivendra Singh Dungapur Foundation’s Film Heritage Foundation’ with help from Wes Anderson. This is the kind of cultural full circle that festivals like Cannes are made for.

 

“In a work that confirms Satyajit Ray’s place amongst the masters of world cinema, Days and Nights in the Forest…” reads the blurb introducing the film which is a quiet dismantling of urban superiority, set against the backdrop of a forest retreat. It’s as much about what’s unsaid as what unfolds on screen. It lingers in discomfort and invites you to look, then look again.

“The first half has the appearance of a light comedy but there’s a steady modulation to a serious key,” is how Ray himself had described the film in a letter to fabled film critic and biographer Marie Seton.

 

Sharmila Tagore (who played Aparna) and Simi Garewal (the enigmatic Duli) were present at the screening alongside Wes Anderson. “Aranyer Din Ratri is one of my most significant films… it’s surprisingly contemporary…. Experiencing it on the big screen at Cannes will be fascinating,” Tagore recently said, while also referring to Cannes as “world cinema at its finest”. Her Ray film Devi was nominated in 1962 for Palme d'Or at Cannes.

 

Even before the film began, the standing ovation she received—from the audience, legendary cinematographer Darius Khondji, and acclaimed Mexican auteur Alejandro González Iñárritu—was nothing short of extraordinary. You truly have to be THE Sharmila Tagore to command such reverence at the world’s most prestigious film festival.

 

Simi Garewal recently spoke of her Aranyer Din Ratri experience: “The opportunity to work with Ray was the ultimate. I would’ve happily opened a door just to be in his film.… My interpretation of Duli was brought about by Manikda’s explanation of her. She was very simple, unsophisticated, and yet, free of societal codes.” 

 

In many ways, Ray’s return doesn’t feel like a retrospective. It feels like a reckoning and a reminder. Of the fact that Indian cinema, in all its grace and complexity, has always had a seat at the table – from Calcutta to Cannes!

 

“People who love cinema go to Cannes…. Some people just come for the buzz, ambience and atmosphere. A lot of things happen there. People have yachts, there are yacht parties, and parties galore every night. So, it's a very buzzing place right now,” said Sharmila Tagore.

 

Start with the basics. If you’ve got accreditation, great. Wear it like a badge of honour. If you don’t, don’t panic. The festival has a way of blurring lines between the invited and the inspired. The Cinéma de la Plage, a beachside open-air theatre, offers nightly screenings under the stars that are free and open to all. Picture it – bare feet in the sand, the sound of waves behind you, and a 1960s noir flick playing to a crowd of hundreds.

 

If you are headed to an official screening, here’s your crash course in etiquette. Arrive early. Phones off. No selfies. And yes, what you wear matters. Cannes has tightened its dress code. Think sleek eveningwear over splashy statements. No oversized totes. No athleisure. It’s not about fashion as spectacle. It’s about respecting the space you’re stepping into. While I was entering the Red-Carpet area, I saw the Security had stopped a perfectly dressed gentleman in a tuxedo because his shoes were not formal enough and had a sporty look.

 

But don’t just chase red carpets. Some of the most electric filmmaking happens in the sidebars, like Un Certain Regard, Critics’ Week, or Directors’ Fortnight. These are the spaces where you’ll find the next Céline Sciamma or Chloé Zhao, voices that are still raw, fearless, and unfinished in the best way. Beyond the screenings, just walk, drift, and eavesdrop. Cannes also lives in the in-between moments, in the stories you stumble on while looking for something else.

 

Of course, don’t forget to eat well. From flaky morning croissants at Rue d’Antibes boulangeries to late-night moules-frites at beachside cafés, Cannes always indulges your palate in between the premieres. But be warned: prices soar during the festival. Reserve when you can, carry cash for corner crêpes, and never underestimate the value of a quick espresso.

 

To be in Cannes is to remember that cinema isn’t just business or branding or buzz. It is communion. It’s that collective breath a theatre takes when the lights go down. It’s the gasp that escapes you, and someone three rows away, at the same frame. It’s the idea that across languages and oceans, we can all be moved by the same flicker of light.  I met a lot of common friends and in between heavy rainfall, I also attended a panel discussion with Mira Nair and Nandita Das at the beach club of Hotel Ritz Carlton where I also met Amruta Fadnavis. 

 

The Director of Alliance Francaise du Bengale, Nicolas Facino told me how they helped in translating the film sub-titles into French during the restoration process.

 

So, as you go, go with open eyes and comfortable shoes. Listen more than you speak. Dress for the scene you’re about to enter, not just for the photos. Cannes doesn’t need you to be anyone but yourself. And if you’re lucky, something you see, in a film or a face or a moment, will follow you home. The real magic of Cannes isn’t that you were there. It’s that something in you quietly shifts, something that stays.

 

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कान में जादू पुराना

 

विश्व सिनेमा का महान मंच कान इस वर्ष सत्यजित राय की फिल्म ‘अरण्येर दिन रात्रि’ से समृद्ध हुआ। वहां मौजूद संदीप भूतोड़िया ने पाया कि कान मेंसत्यजित राय की फिल्मों की उपस्थिति किसी मिथकीय स्मृति के जीवंत होने जैसी है... 

 

हर साल मई के महीने में फ्रेंच रिवेरा का एक उनींदा-ऊंघता हिस्सा जैसे जाग कर एक झिलमिलाता गाउन पहनता है। यह कान है, जो 12 दिनों तकअपनी एक अलग ही दुनिया जीता है- भव्य प्रीमियर, कला पर बतियाते संभ्रांत लोग और ऐसी फिल्में जिन्हें देखकर आप ‘वाह’ कहते हैं अथवा निशब्दरह जाते हैं। यह केवल एक फिल्म महोत्सव नहीं, बल्कि वह काल्पनिक दुनिया है, जहां विश्वास और वास्तविकता के बीच की रेखा धुंधली हो जाती है!

 

मेरी मित्र ईशा दत्ता, जिनके परिवार ने ‘अरण्येर दिन रात्रि’ बनाई थी, ने मुझे बताया कि वह अपने पालतू कुत्ते के बीमार होने के कारण कान में फिल्मप्रीमियर में शामिल नहीं हो पा रही हैं और अगर मैं चाहूं तो उनकी जगह जा सकता हूं। मुझे ‘हां’ कहने में एक क्षण भी नहीं लगा। सीमा पर तनाव केकारण गर्मियों की छुट्टियों में चैल जाने की मेरी योजना रद्द हो चुकी थी, सो मैं ‘अरण्येर दिन रात्रि’ की स्क्रीनिंग से पहले ही वहां पहुंच गया, जहां इसकामोनोक्रोम मैजिक सिनेमा के कद्रदानों की प्रतीक्षा कर रहा था। भारत की यह क्लासिक सिनेमा प्रस्तुति हमें याद दिलाती है कि सिनेमा क्या था औरअभी भी यह क्या हो सकता है! 

 

कान में सत्यजित राय की वापसी किसी मिथक के जीवंत होने जैसी है। उनकी 1970 की फिल्म ‘अरण्येर दिन रात्रि’  को कान क्लासिक्स सेक्शन मेंजगह दी गई है। इस फिल्म को वेस एंडरसन की मदद से फिल्म हेरिटेज फाउंडेशन ने खूबसूरती से रीस्टोर किया है। ऐसा सिनेमा ही कान की वास्तविकप्रतिष्ठा है। सत्यजित राय को विश्व सिनेमा में उल्लेखनीय स्थान दिलवाने वाली इस फिल्म के बारे में राय ने स्वयं फिल्म समीक्षक मैरी सेटन को एकपत्र में लिखा था, ‘इसके पूर्वार्ध में हल्का-फुल्का हास्यगत प्रभाव है लेकिन फिर गंभीर परिवर्तन आता है।’ कान में इस फिल्म की स्क्रीनिंग में इसमेंअपर्णा की भूमिका निभाने वाली शर्मिला टैगोर और रहस्यमयी दुली के रूप में दिखने वाली सिमी गरेवाल वेस एंडरसन के साथ उपस्थित थीं। ‘अरण्येरदिन रात्रि’ का शो प्रारंभ होने से पहले सिनेमा डी ला-प्लाज का ओपेन थियेटर शर्मिला टैगोर के लिए दर्शकों, विश्वप्रसिद्ध सिनेमैटोग्राफर दारियासखोंड्जी और मैक्सिकन निर्देशक अलेजांद्रो गोन्जालेज इन्यारीटु द्वारा खड़े होकर बजाई जा रही तालियों से गूंज रहा था।

 

वास्तव में देखा जाए तो कान में सत्यजित राय की वापसी कोई पुनरावलोकन नहीं है। यह तो बस एक शाश्वत सत्य को याद दिलाने जैसा है किकोलकाता से लेकर कान तक सुंदरता और कलात्मकता में भारतीय सिनेमा का सदैव ही विशिष्ट स्थान सुरक्षित रहा है