The Great Hierro Disaster.

Right from the off, one of the films that we had all been looking forward to seeing the most was Gabe Ibanezs’s Hierro, so yesterday there was quite an air of anticipation in the air as the three of us pitched up at the Star Cinema, joining the queue of the usual genre festival suspects.

Enter the French power workers union. Most years, while we are in Cannes, one set of French workers or another go on strike. One year it will be the railway workers, or the baggage handlers and the next it will be the bus drivers. This year the power workers decided it was their turn. They were out in force on the streets demonstrating in a noisy and colourful demonstration. A bit inconvenient, but not the end of the world. However, some bright spark upped the anti a little and cut of the power to all of Cannes cinemas. You can see the thinking of whoever did this. In the middle of the worlds biggest film festival, featuring hundreds of films; lets turn off the power. This will get someone’s attention. It certainly did.

We milled around outside the cinema for a while as one by one the scheduled screenings were all cancelled. 45 minutes after our screening was supposed to start, we got the word that it was cancelled. There was nothing else to do but to retire to the nearest hostelry and have a beer and feel aggrieved.

As I type this, it is 5.45 a.m. A very ungodly hour of the day, that quite frankly, I don’t see that often. So, why am I up so early? This is just what you have to do to get into see one of the festivals’ biggest films. Against the odds Iv'e managed to get a ticket for Quentin Tarantio’s Inglorious Basterds. See on the left. It’s for a 8.30 a.m. screening and you have to be there at 7.30 a.m. to get a decent seat, but I’ll settle for that.

I will let Paul tell you about that in tomorrows gripping instalment of the FrightFest Postcards from Cannes.

Until the next time...

Ian.

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