Fest lacking zest?
Paris event popular despite official brickbats
The festival, which shows mostly freshman and soph films, lacks the glamour of Cannes and Deauville, yet has none of the edginess of an alternative fest.
Christophe Girard, deputy mayor in charge of cultural affairs, said the fest has none of the importance of a city festival such as Berlin's.
"It does not reverberate in Europe or the rest of the world," Girard said in French daily Le Figaro. He added that the date was badly chosen, opening on Easter weekend and just a few weeks before Cannes.
Still, against all odds, the fest continues to grow. Attendance has risen from 5,000 in 1986 to 90,000 last year; this year, owing to the fest's decentralization, organizers expect to sell 150,000 tix.
This year the fest will host panels featuring such film and television notables as Pierre Lescure, Costa-Gavras, Andrei Konchalovsky and Catherine Breillat.
In a forum April 7, four presidential hopefuls, including current prime minister Lionel Jospin, will discuss the French media biz with industry insiders and the public.
Obviously referring to Girard's disparaging remarks, Isabelle Adjani, this year's honorary fest president, proclaimed at the opening gala that only creators and producers could "give the festival its soul," not politicians.
Almodovar opener
Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe attended the opening --- the mayor's office contributed 800,000 euros ($704,000) to the fest's coffers and is an official fest partner -- and in a speech underlined the fest's double dimension as both Parisian and European. He highlighted the presence of the Spanish delegation, including Pedro Almodovar, whose new film "Talk to Her" opened the fest.
Almodovar, after being introduced by surprise guest star Penelope Cruz, presented the cast, including Geraldine Chaplin -- who at the eleventh hour graciously accepted her role as the fest's jury president.
Fest runs through Tuesday.
