Much needed, I might add. Today, my roommate Alicia woke up with a fantastic idea: let's go to the beach! She didn't really need to convince me. I think I was in my bikini before she even finished the sentence! (you couldn't ask for better lighting than this)

I spent the day passed out in the sand (with my broad-spectrum sunscreen, I might add- high praises for Bliss Lab's "The Big Screen 30SPF" spray-on sunscreen which did not smell bad and kept my pale skin pale). It was easily the sunniest day of the festival and although the water was cold, I managed to get a couple of good body surfing turns in! Alicia and her friends managed to finagle their way into P. Diddy's small private party the night before where they got to hang out with the likes of Lindsay Lohan and the uber-hip. Yes, her "girlfriend" was there and no she wasn't drinking- I was given the tabloid dirt LONG before it came out in the gossip mags, which I think makes me almost the coolest person in the world. The coolest, of course, is Linz herself, then the girls who were actually there, and then me.

I enjoyed listening to their stories, but I was glad that I had spent my evening on a quieter, more introspective note: watching Michelle Williams portray Wendy in Kelly Reichardt's new film "Wendy and Lucy." She was fantastic (and there in person, I might add- swoon). In fact, I can't remember the last time I felt so connected to and moved by an actor's performance. She is now on my list of "favorite" actors. The film was very sad, very quiet, and very good (Lucy is her dog- they are traveling to Alaska so Wendy can find work when her car breaks down in Oregon and she has to confront the reality of her finances and situation- I don't do spoilers, so I'll end it there).

After relaxing on the beach and eating ice cream for lunch, I realized that I still needed to return my rented cell phone, so I ran back to the palias, slid beneath the closing gates, and returned my phone, having just enough time to text a friend about dinner. Okay, the gates weren't closing. That was just an Indiana Jones flashback. After that, I got my last free Nespresso coffee, a free bottle of mineral water, a free glass of wine and a free glass of Asti, both from Piedmont. I finished the day with a fantastic dinner of mussels in white wine broth, calamari and tiramisu and topped it off with a glass of armagnac (my favorite French liquor- after wine, of course). That was one of two good dinners I had in Cannes. The dollar doesn't get you much these days. In fact, I was a bit disappointed with my cuisine experience in Cannes. Not that I have anything against omelet sandwiches and cheese paninis, but it gets old when you eat them every day. When you're visiting the country of haute cuisine, you would like your $18 to get you a little more than a salad with cheese (not an exaggeration). The free coffee helped make up for that, though. :)

My festival days ended the way they started, with a bang:

I'm definitely happy to be home with some built-up steam pushing me to seek funding for my own film. Only time will tell if I was able to help LOOP. This experience was a mix of excitement, frustration, and education and I feel quite a bit more enlightened about the film industry. I'll share my thoughts on that in the next post.