Space Chase Watch a scene from Stephen's short, competing at Cannes.

We've signed with an American short film distributor, Big Film Shorts. Hopefully this means that we will be able to get Space Chase screened on television worldwide and who knows where else.

I've managed to achieve all four of the aims I set out before leaving for Cannes. They were:
1. Promote Space Chase and sign a distributor.
2. Network like crazy.
3. Avoid only talking to British people.
4. Resist the urge to litter this diary with bad Cannes puns.

The whole Cannes experience was fantastic and thoroughly worth it. A little back-of-a-napkin maths tells me that the trip cost Chris and myself around £500 each. This includes travel, accommodation, food, suntan cream and everything else Cannes-related. With a bit more planning and a few less ice creams I'm sure it's possible to spend less if you're on a budget.

Hopefully in the future we will collaborate with some of the contacts we met this year. In addition, we are intending to contact a few of the filmmakers whose work we saw at Short Film Corner.

Bizarrely enough, due to the intense schedule we had in Cannes, I have come down with a cold! Clearly being in the gloriously sunny south of France has sufficiently confused my body enough for it to take revenge!

If you're thinking of going next year, or have any questions, please feel free to contact me at stephenfollows@catsnake.com.

Until next year,

Stephen

Whilst we've been in Cannes we've being doing a few things to promote Space Chase. We've placed posters and flyers in Short Film Corner and the UK pavilion. The promotional materials help but there's no substitute for talking to people. Aproaching random strangers takes some getting used to, but the whole atmosphere of Cannes encourages it. In no time you're swapping business cards and talking projects.

The online competition has been very useful as a source of promotion, both on the web and at Cannes. The winner was announced yesterday at a well attended ceremony. Unfortunately for us, we didn't win but the film that did, B Is For Bomb, was a worthy winner.

Finding a distributor has been going well. We had interest from a British short film distributor, but they passed at the last minute. Filling their shoes is a large American short film distributor. If everything goes to plan, then hopefully it will all be signed within the week.

The weather yesterday was a little disappointing. All week we've had clear blue skies and lots of sun, but yesterday was overcast and windy. When rain looked likely, the free gifts at some stands changed almost instantly from pens to umbrellas!

Between Chris and myself we've seen over 100 short films so far. It's great to see such an eclectic mix from all over the world. The ratio of 'really incredible' films to the rest is about one in ten.

The system at Short Film Corner tracks which films are being watched and allows filmmakers to know who has seen their work. As a result we have already been contacted by people whose films we saw earlier in the week.

On the features front, the talk of the town is Southland Tales, the new film from Richard Kelly, the director of Donnie Darko. This film was tipped as being 'one to watch' but has turned out to be a bit of a damp squib. Never mind, there's still Clerks 2 and Pan's Labyrinth to look forward to.

In the International Village there are pavilions representing most nations. The UK pavilion houses many UK film bodies and is a handy place to chill out. All the pavilions are free to enter, with the exception of the American pavilion - while the €45 membership may sound steep, it's not too bad when you consider that it's one of the few pavilions not to receive public money.

But the Best Pavilion award goes to Kodak. With complimentary drinks at the bar and a machine that prints off your digital photos for free, it takes some beating!

Tired, tanned and having fun.

Despite having a lot to do, Saturday went off without a hitch. We had a Wacky Races-style mad dash from the airport but made it with ten minutes to spare. At the screening Space Chase was well received and I was able to make a few contacts afterwards. Then we signed in, picked up our official bag of paperwork and oriented ourselves with the layout of Cannes.

By the time we'd checked into our accommodation, it was a relief to put our feet up. I'm staying in a nice self-catering apartment in a nearby town, with my colleague Chris Lightwing.

We had our first proper look around the pavilions and film market on Sunday. At Cannes there are different levels of accreditation. At the cheapest end, film professionals can apply for a free pass giving them entry to the pavilions, but not to the market. The most expensive is a Market Pass (€300), which gives unrestricted access to everything. By entering Space Chase in the short film market, Chris and I both received the short film market pass. It has slightly less access then the full Market Pass, but only costs €75 for two representatives. A bargain, if you ask me.

At the short film section of the market, there are booths where you can view any of the thousand or so submitted shorts. We both spent an hour watching various shorts and will return later in the week.

Filmmakers promote their work by placing postcards and flyers around the Short Film Corner reception area. The sight of this is a stark reminder of just how many short films are being made around the world, and to what lengths you need to go to get your film noticed within their midst.

One short caught my eye from the title alone: Saddam Hussein Is Alive And Well And He Lives In Brussels.

I'm glad to report that my French is improving. I think I'll be able to hold a basic conversation by Cannes 2010.

We're off to Cannes on Saturday and it looks like we're going to have a busy first day. We fly from Stansted to Nice at 6am (check in at 4am!) and have to rush to Cannes for an 11.30am screening. Space Chase is being shown in a programme of "short films without dialogue", presented by Michel Coulombe. We're meeting with Michel afterwards to talk about distribution for shorts.

Then it's checking in at Short Film Corner, get orientated around Cannes and, finally, sign into our apartment in a nearby town.

One of the things about Cannes is the amount of blagging you need to do to get into certain parties/venues/screenings. A bit of prep work has got me a few invitations and passes, but most of the groundwork will have to be done when I'm over there.

To start with I have a spare VIP pass to the Kodak Pavilion, which I'm hoping to 'trade up'. If you're interested just email me at stephenfollows@catsnake.com. I'll even throw in a mention in this diary for you and your film – you can't say fairer than that ;-)

My French isn't progressing very quickly and I think I'll only be using this one phrase:

"Je suis désolé; je ne parle pas français car j'ai pas pris de temps suffisante pour apprendre votre belle langue. Je vais maintenant faire des gestes pour me faire comprendre et si je dois, parler anglais très fort. Tout ce que je peux faire c'est m'excuser..."

Roughly, this means:

"I'm sorry; I don't speak French as I have put in insufficient time to learn your beautiful language. I am now just going to point, gesture and, if I have to, speak English very loudly. All I can do is apologise..."

Right, I reckon I'm ready. EasyJet booked, apartment secured, fliers printed and suntan lotion bought. I'm off to Cannes. I'll be there between 20th and 28th May and have been asked to keep a diary for BBC Film Network.

1. Promote Space Chase (and hopefully sign a distributor).
2. Network like crazy.
3. Avoid only talking to British people (I can meet them anytime of the year in a far more relaxed setting!).
4. Resist the urge to litter this diary with bad Cannes puns.

I considered going to Cannes last year but without a current project to promote I decided against it. From what I heard it was a rather wet affair with heavy rain on most days! Here's hoping for better weather this year...

Space Chase [directed by Daniel Duncan and Jonathan Pearson, pictured in the main picture above, to the left of Stephen] is a five minute action short featuring elements of Parkour (free-running). So far it has been screened at film festivals worldwide with more planned later in the year. We are keen to get the film screened on television and as the film has no dialogue we think it could have global appeal.

The film has been entered into the short film market - called Short Film Corner - at Cannes. We are looking to team up with a distributor to represent the film to television channels and theatrical exhibitors. We've already been contacted directly by a few European television channels but a distributor will help get the film seen by as many people as possible.

The latest piece of good news in our plan for total world dominance is that Space Chase has been shortlisted for the Cannes 2006 Online Competition! Every year, all the films entered into Short Film Corner are viewed and the ten best are selected for the competition. The shortlisted films are then streamed online for two weeks where the public get to vote.

It's really exciting to be shortlisted but I must confess to being a bit concerned - one of the films beat Space Chase in the final of the recent NPA Film Competition and another beat a previous film of mine a few years ago in Ireland.

Space Chase will be online until Monday 22nd May and you can view the film, along with the nine other finalists, by visiting www.nfb.ca/cannes. Please remember to vote!

1. Contact a few distributors in advance and book meetings.
2. Try and get more votes for Space Chase (hint, hint!).
3. Pack.
4. Learn French.

Stephen will continue to update his diary during the festival, which runs until Sunday 28th May.

Stephen Follows | Published 29 May 06

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