For the newcomer, the festival and market atmosphere at Cannes can and often does more resemble a circus than the single most important annual international conflux of major stars, directors, international sales agents, bank executives and film business entrepreneurs. For the experienced Cannes attendee, however, the frenzied environment is more likely to produce an adrenaline rush than an anxiety attack. As a twelve-year veteran of the Riviera confab, I recently collected some of my thoughts and advice for those readers who are experiencing their first Cannes.

1. ‘THE PINBALL METHOD’

Perhaps the whole point of your Cannes trip is the sheer number of face-to-face business opportunities you can create. The market and festival offer such a range of companies, dealmakers and personalities that a well-planned and executed Cannes stay can benefit your operations for years to come. For the budding dealmaker there are two basic philosophies when trying to make the most out of your trip. The first is “the pinball method,” which means allowing yourself to roll with the action by putting yourself in places -- be it the MTV party, marching the steps of the Palais at the hot premiere, taking drinks at the Bar at the Majestic, moving through the crowded halls of the Carlton Hotel and its many sales offices, dining on bouillabaisse at Tatou while people-watching, belting out a Karaoke tune at 4:00 am at La Chunga, or perhaps mixing with dignitaries at the Toronto Film Festival beach party -- where at each venue you will literally bump into the people that you need to get to know or catch up with. Remember though, Cannes is a marathon, so pace yourself.

2. ‘THE MOHAMMED METHOD’

A second approach -- allowing “the mountain to come to Mohammed,” if you will -- has been perfected by Cannes veterans like Buckley Norris and Brian Kingman of AON/Albert G. Rubin Insurance, and literally consists of taking a table at the Majestic Hotel bar, out on the patio, and simply sitting there...all day long and well into the evening. Eventually, every person who you want to meet, you want to do business with, or who you want to catch up with, is going to pass through the Majestic Bar, and, if you’ve set the stage properly, will sit down at your table. Of course, the bottles of Perrier, the chilled champagne, the playing cards, the backgammon board, and a recognizable bevy of attractive performers, associates or executives always reel in excellent future business contacts.

3. HAVE A PLAN

As glamorously casual as Cannes may seem to an outsider, the successful insiders always go into each year’s session with a set strategy in place. Always have a plan. It certainly helps to make a list (and if possible, prior to Cannes to set meetings with) -- the appropriate sales companies, the producers, the actors, the directors, the distributors, the bankers, the financiers, and the insurance guarantors that you need to meet to make your project a reality.

4. PUT IT IN WRITING, BUT BE BRIEF

Further to this goal, and regardless of what you’re pushing, have something in writing. Make it short, make it smart, and whatever you do, do not bring a script to Cannes: nobody wants to take it, nobody wants to carry it, nobody has time to read it, and nobody wants to have to pack it in their luggage when they pack up to leave. Instead, be prepared to pitch your project on the spot and hand somebody one or two pages with the critical information (synopsis, attachments, estimated budget and the like) clearly presented. Then follow up with a script stateside.

5. REMEMBER: SELLERS ARE THERE TO SELL

The international sales agents at Cannes are there to sell movies to buyers, and unless the company has a special acquisitions department, they usually don’t have the time or the focus to hear pitches until very late in the market when the key foreign buyers have left, perhaps during free time at the end of the day, or early in the day. Don’t pester sales agents for meetings to pitch a project. Instead, be flexible, and take a meeting when you can get one. Nevertheless, make sure you follow up with them at after Cannes.

stay tuned for part II...