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| Author | Zoe Aresti |
DCM spent a week at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity this year and here’s what we got up to in the South of France.
Our festival experience kicked off with a fun and thought-provoking session on the power of the big screen hosted by global advertising trade body for the cinema advertising industry, SAWA. At the seminar a remake of the Spice Girls hit, Wannabe, was unveiled which you can read more about here.
Oliver Stone spoke about his upcoming film, Snowden, in another standout session. The director has overseen some memorable titles over the years and he explained his ability to tell factual, controversial stories on the big screen and why it appeals to him.
Alejandro González Iñárritu’s The Revenant will still be fresh in the memory having thrilled audiences towards the end of 2016. At Cannes Lions a montage of scenes from the film was played before the director entered the stage to applause for his work for the title and over the years.
He spoke about how he started out in music but wasn’t very good but realised with film he could merge the two disciplines. He also discussed the difference between features and commercials and how some feature directors wouldn’t necessarily know how to shoot ads just because they’ve done films, praising the medium as a fine exercise for filmmakers.
John Cena gave a surprisingly good address to a gathered crowd in the new Lions Entertainment area on the Terrace Stage in the sun. He spoke about how his brand under the WWE umbrella has evolved from a rebellious bad boy character to everyone’s favourite role model without compromising his ability to be the best when it comes to his craft.
Each year Cannes Lions plays host to a new director’s showcase, the CFP-E/shots Young Director Award, which champions new talent in filmmaking and this year before the annual awards ceremony a panel discussion was held on the topic of VR titled Making the Virtual a Reality. The ongoing questions were asked about whether the panel, which included representatives from Google and companies with expertise in the field such as HappyFinish, believed the tech was here to stay and there were some interesting theories about the possibilities.
Vice also held a session with its founder Shane Smith who spoke about the platform’s fearless approach to creating content that makes people think. He was joined in conversation by director Spike Jonze, who works with the company.
Hollywood movie producer, Harvey Weinstein, ended our week of talks by speaking to Publicis CEO, Maurice Lévy. The pair spoke about his companies over the years in a career full of exciting movies, content and now TV shows that he is involved in bringing to the masses.
It was a successful week for DCM overall and we also held two events during the week for friends and associates of the company. The first was a screening of the England vs Slovakia game at a rooftop venue above La Croisette which provided fantastic views of the surrounding area and allowed guests to enjoy the game away from the bustle of the streets below. Our annual DCM dinner was also a success and allowed an opportunity for the company to catch up with agency partners and friends to talk about the industry and the Festival’s agenda.
Finally, the last awards ceremony of the week on Saturday night saw the Film and Film Craft Lion winners announced at the Palais with Harvey Nichols and Under Armour shining on the night. You can watch the Grand Prix-winning films here and view the rest of the week’s winners on the Cannes Lions website.
You can also look back on our week in Cannes by following our social feeds on Twitter and Instagram.