From Cannes to Clark County: Attend a Film Festival Right Here!

From the sun-drenched Croisette of Cannes, where cinema’s most glamorous and most bizarre moments collide, comes a tradition of unforgettable festival lore. Whether it’s the gleeful chaos of marketing stunts gone awry, the jaw-dropping press conference faux pas from directors, or the prestigious Palm Dog Award honoring the best canine performer, these stories remind us that film festivals are living, breathing spectacles of art, ambition, and sheer unpredictability. Join us in our own film festival, happening later this month. 

Cannes You Top This?

The Cannes Film Festival isn't just a marketplace for cinema; it's a battlefield for attention. With the world's media gathered on the Croisette, studios will go to outrageous, and often utterly absurd, lengths to make their film the talk of the town. Here are three legendary and bizarre promotional stunts that were pulled off at the festival.

The Expendables 3: A Non-Invasion Invasion

When you’re promoting a movie called The Expendables, starring every action hero on the planet, a simple billboard just won’t cut it. In 2014, producer Avi Lerner decided he needed to roll into Cannes with the ultimate symbol of machismo: not one, but three authentic English World War II-era tanks.

The logistical and diplomatic hurdles were as enormous as the tanks themselves. Lerner couldn't just drive armored vehicles into a major international event. He revealed to the Hollywood Reporter, "I had to sign an affidavit to the government of France that we’re not going to take over the country." The affidavit assured French authorities that this was merely a promotional event and not a hostile takeover. The tanks rumbled down the Croisette, creating an unforgettable spectacle. Lerner proudly declared, "It was the biggest [stunt], I think, Cannes ever had."

The Expendables 3

24 Hour Party People: A Pigeon Apocalypse

In 2002, the team behind the anarchic British comedy 24 Hour Party People devised a promotion that was as chaotic and irreverent as the film itself. The movie features a scene where a character accidentally poisons thousands of pigeons, which then rain down from the sky. To recreate this moment, producers handed the cast members bags filled with hundreds of fake, plastic pigeons.

The actors, playing the iconic band Happy Mondays, then stood on the balcony of the Hotel Majestic's beachfront and began hurling the fake birds onto the unsuspecting public below. The stunt caused widespread confusion and horror among the chic Cannes crowd, who were initially convinced they were witnessing a mass avian die-off. The chaos even caught the attention of filmmaking legends Joel and Ethan Coen, who were having lunch nearby. "One of the pigeons apparently landed on their table," said cast member Paul Popplewell. "And apparently they thought it was f--ing hilarious."

24 Hour Party People

Bee Movie: The Flight of the Bumblebee

Perhaps the most iconic Cannes stunt of the 21st century belongs to Jerry Seinfeld and Bee Movie. In 2007, former DreamWorks Animation chief Jeffrey Katzenberg was determined to make a buzz. His plan? Have Seinfeld, dressed in a full bumblebee suit, zip-line from the roof of the Carlton Hotel down to the beach.

The city, wary of disrupting the festival, imposed strict rules. "The city of Cannes wouldn't let us put the cable up until overnight," Katzenberg recalled. After the rig was secretly set up in the dead of night, Seinfeld and Katzenberg found themselves on the hotel roof at dawn, looking down the long, terrifying cable stretched over the Croisette. Seinfeld turned to his producer and offered a compelling suggestion. "Jerry looked at the rigging and said to me, 'That looks very compelling and interesting. I think you should test it, Jeffrey.' I said, 'You know what, I think you're right.'" Katzenberg took the inaugural ride, ensuring it was safe for his star. Later that day, Seinfeld soared over the crowds in his bee costume, creating a surreal and unforgettable image that perfectly captured the glorious absurdity of Cannes.

Bee Movie

Palme and Circumstance

The 2011 Cannes Film Festival witnessed one of the most divisive premieres in its history. Terrence Malick's profoundly ambitious and philosophical film The Tree of Life, starring Brad Pitt, was met with a chorus of loud, unmistakable boos from a segment of the audience at its first screening. The film's non-linear narrative, which juxtaposed a 1950s Texas family drama with the creation of the universe and the age of dinosaurs, prompted mass walkouts and furious debates in the hallways of the Palais. For many detractors, the film's grand cosmic scale and meditative pace crossed the line from profound into pretentious, branding it as self-indulgent and incomprehensible.

The Tree of Life

Yet, in a stunning reversal just a few days later, the same film was awarded the festival's highest honor, the Palme d'Or. 

The jury, chaired by Robert De Niro that year, had seen beyond the initial polarizing reaction to the film's audacious vision. The BBC wrote, "De Niro said after the ceremony that The Tree of Life had 'the size, the importance, the intention, whatever you want to call it, that seemed to fit the prize'".

Many believe that it was actually Lars von Trier's Melancholia that received the top vote. Variety reported, "Despite early rumors of a heavily divided jury, it was clear from the post-ceremony press conference that De Niro had weighed his fellow jurors‘ opinions equally...De Niro said 'Tree of Life' had won the Palme because it was the top pick for the majority of the jury."

More than likely, what tipped The Tree of Life out of the running was von Trier's poorly received remarks during the film’s now infamous press conference—joking that he “sympathizes with Hitler...OK, I'm a Nazi,”—which prompted the festival to banish him as persona non grata. Ironically, his producer, Peter Aalbeck Jensen, said to him before he went out to do the conference, "'I told Lars: 'You made a great film. If you can just keep your mouth shut, you'll win the Palme d'Or.' "Well...

As a result, many observers believe that these statements effectively derailed the film’s chances. In the end, the Palme d’Or went to The Tree of Life, while Melancholia received only the Best Actress award for Kirsten Dunst.

Melancholia

The Canine Cannes

At the Cannes Film Festival, where the coveted Palme d'Or is the highest honor, a different kind of "paw-stige" is awarded each year: the Palm Dog Award. Founded in 2001 by cinema journalist and canine enthusiast Toby Rose, who was inspired by his own Fox Terrier, Mutt, the award was created to celebrate the best performance by a dog in the festival's lineup. What began as a fun side note has blossomed into a full-blown institution. The ceremony, which awards a custom collar to the winner, now attracts filmmakers, actors, and of course, the four-legged stars themselves, and is judged by a jury of renowned film critics.

Anatomy Of A Fall

I have to acknowledge a recent award-winner from the 2023 season: a border collie named Messi, who played Snoop in the Anatomy of a Fall. Messi's performance was hailed by the BBC as “one for the canine canon,” suggesting he genuinely deserves an Oscar-worthy recognition. In this movie, there is something Messi does that I have never seen a dog performer do ever... I wish I could describe it for you, but it would be a major spoiler! You'll just have to check out the movie to see!

Sometimes a Palm Dog win was such a massive story that it arguably generated more immediate, light-hearted buzz than some of the films in the main competition. The prestige of the Palm Dog award is not lost on filmmakers. One of the other competitors from 2023, Alma from Fallen Leaves, was awarded the Palm Dog's Grand Jury Prize, an accolade that the film's human stars said easily beats winning a Palme d'Or. "It's probably the greatest award ever, so we are truly, truly overwhelmed," said Jussi Vatanen, one of the leads.

Alma Pöysti said of her co-star, "Her name’s Alma, just like mine, which was a wonderful coincidence. She’s a street dog from Portugal, Aki’s [the director] own dog. It was her film debut. I’m full of admiration because she’s very disciplined and has a great sense of rhythm. She was making these independent choices that were always spot-on. But I always had a spare sausage for her in my pocket, to get her to recognize it was worth hanging out with me."

Fallen leaves

Have you ever wanted to attend a film festival like Cannes, TIFF, SXSW, or Sundance? You don’t have to travel far—we bring the excitement right here every year! The MANHATTAN SHORT Film Festival is a one-of-a-kind global event where audiences in over 500 cities across six continents gather to watch the same lineup of short films and cast their votes for Best Film and Best Actor. By joining a screening at your local branch, you become part of an international jury helping to decide the winners.

They're even Oscar qualifying! Check out this year's finalists here.

2025 Library Screening Schedule

• Main Library – Thursday, September 25 at 11:00 AM & 5:00 PM (Gaier Meeting Room)

• Southgate Branch – Saturday, September 27 & Wednesday, October 1 at 1:00 PM (Community Room)

• Park Branch – Monday, September 29 at 5:00 PM (Community Room)

• Tuttle Branch – Tuesday, September 30 at 5:00 PM (Community Room)

• Enon Branch – Saturday, October 4 at 1:00 PM (Community Room)

Want more festival-worthy films after the credits roll?

Your library card unlocks Kanopy, a streaming service featuring thousands of independent films, award-winning documentaries, and shorts—including many that have screened at Cannes, Sundance, and other festivals from all over the world.

Getting started is easy:

1. Visit. Go to www.ccplohio.org/resource/kanopy (or open the Kanopy app on your device or smart TV).

2. Sign up. With your Clark County Public Library card number and PIN/password, create a Kanopy account.

3. Start watching. Each month, you receive a set number of tickets, and Kanopy Kids titles never use a credit.

Take the festival experience home and discover world-class cinema anytime, anywhere.

References

About Us. Palm Dog Woopets. (n.d.). https://www.palmdog.com/about-us/