The Magic of Cannes

Every May, a sleepy stretch of the French Riviera wakes up and slips into a sequined gown.

- Sundeep Bhutoria

For 12 days, Cannes becomes a world unto itself — a blur of black-tie premieres, rosé-fueled conversations, and films that leave you going ‘wow’ or wordless or both.

But here’s the thing they don’t always tell you. Beneath the high-octane glamour, the real pulse of the Cannes Film Festival beats with something quieter, older, and more urgent. It’s a shared reverence for the art of storytelling.

If one is heading to Cannes for the first time in 2025, one is not just attending a film festival. One is stepping into a fever dream where the line between make-believe and reality gently dissolves.

My friend Esha Dutta whose family produced “Aranyer Din Ratri” told me that she was unable to attend the film premiere in Cannes because of her dog’s sudden illness and if I want, I can go in her place. It did not take me a second to say yes, firstly because my summer vacation plans to Chail had already been cancelled because of the situation at the border at that time and I had nothing much in my diary. But the toughest for me was to get a comfortable flight to land directly at Nice Côte d'Azur Airport but last moment, I was able to manage that as well. My hotel contacts were good enough to secure a room for me and I was there well in time for the screening of “Aranyer Din Ratri”

This year, the festival’s mood feels especially layered. It’s a collage of past, present, and whatever's hurtling towards us next. The curtain rises with Leave One Day (Partir un jour), a vibrant musical comedy-drama by French director Amélie Bonnin. Following it is an eclectic mix of cinematic voices, from Ari Aster’s metaphysical thriller Eddington to Julia Ducournau’s provocative sci-fi Alpha to Wes Anderson’s meticulously crafted mystery The Phoenician Scheme. But for us, the most special moment this year arrives quietly, in monochrome. A restored Indian classic reminds us of what cinema was and still could be.