Here we go. Tonight at 7pm, Eye Haïdara climbs the 24 steps and declares the 79th Cannes Film Festival open. For twelve days — from May 12 to 23 — the Croisette becomes the most photographed, filmed and scrutinized stage in the world. 22 films competing for the Palme d’or. A jury chaired by Park Chan-wook, joined by Demi Moore, Chloé Zhao, Stellan Skarsgård and Ruth Negga. Peter Jackson and Barbra Streisand honored. And somewhere on that 60-meter red carpet: your clients, your talent, your brands.
Our agency is at the heart of the operation again this year. Here is our no-filter guide for everyone who wants to get the most out of Cannes — agencies, talent, models, marketing teams, press attachés.
Preparing before you arrive: the fundamentals
Cannes is not improvised. What you do in the days before the festival is often more decisive than what you do on the ground.
Map out your agenda in advance. The official selection has been known since April 9. You therefore knew that La Vénus électrique by Pierre Salvadori would open the festival with Anaïs Demoustier, Vimala Pons, Pio Marmaï and Gilles Lellouche. You knew that Histoires de la nuit by Léa Mysius, with Monica Bellucci and Hafsia Herzi, would be in competition. Every screening is an opportunity for presence, content, encounters. Plan accordingly.
Get accredited early — very early. Press, market and professional accreditations open months in advance. If you’re not accredited, your access to the Palais, press screenings, VIP spaces and conferences will be severely limited. Some sponsor spaces immediately refuse any non-official badge.
Book your accommodations now. The Majestic, Martinez, Carlton — fully booked for months. Cannes is a city of 74,000 inhabitants that hosts 40,000 professionals in ten days. Think Mougins, Antibes, Golfe-Juan. A well-managed transport budget beats an exploded hotel budget.
Prepare your looks with a stylist. Not a suggestion: a necessity. The red carpet dress code is strict (see below). Models and talent representing a brand must arrive with their outfits validated, ironed, ready. A zipper that fails at 6:55 pm in front of the red carpet is a nightmare our teams have already lived through.
Brief your photographer and video crew before leaving. With us, every Cannes shoot starts with a detailed brief: predicted light at key hours, authorized vantage points, security constraints, accreditation zones. A photographer who discovers the Palais on day one loses two precious hours.
10 things to absolutely do during the FIF
1. Walk the red carpet, even without an official invitation.
There are public screenings — notably at Cinéma de la Plage, every evening from 9:30 pm, free on the beach with open access. A way to experience festival atmosphere without a badge. For the official steps, bet on your network and prepare your outfit well in advance.
2. Be present at the opening or closing ceremony for content.
Tonight, actress Jane Fonda and Gong Li officially declare this 79th edition open. These are historic content moments. If your client or talent is there, it’s a cover photo.
3. Shoot early in the morning on the Croisette.
Between 6 and 8 am, the Croisette is almost empty. The light is perfect — golden, raking, with no harsh shadows. That’s where our teams produce the best lifestyle and fashion content, with the palaces in the background, without the daytime crowds.
4. Activate brand spaces intelligently.
Many brands set up their spaces on the roof of the Palais, in hotels or on the beach. Take advantage to create content coherent with your brand universe in a premium context. A reels shot at the Martinez with Mediterranean view beats ten ordinary posts.
5. Attend press conferences of films in competition.
This year, the teams of Paper Tiger by James Gray, Autofiction by Almodóvar or Moulin by László Nemes will speak publicly. It’s exclusive content, quotes, strong images — accessible with a press accreditation.
6. Make real-time stories from key spots.
The red carpet, the Palais entrance, the Croisette, the Gray d’Albion beach — your audiences want instant content. Plan story slots every two hours with your community manager or content team. Cannes is consumed live.
7. Network at the Marché du Film.
The Marché du Film — held in parallel with the festival — is the largest film marketplace in the world. If you’re an agency, a brand or a producer, that’s where the real deals happen. Book appointments in advance.
8. Attend a masterclass.
This year, Peter Jackson, Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton are hosting exceptional masterclasses. It’s free with accreditation, it’s rare, and it’s the kind of moment that inspires an entire creative team for months.
9. Enjoy the night screenings of the immersive competition.
The 3rd Immersive Competition takes place at the Carlton Hotel until May 22, with nine immersive works from eight countries. An ideal exploration ground for agencies tracking new narrative forms.
10. Debrief every evening with your team.
Cannes moves fast. Very fast. Take 20 minutes every evening to recap what was shot, what’s missing, what must be produced in priority. The best Cannes content is often the result of rigorous logistics, not chance.
10 things to absolutely NOT do
1. Arrive without a Plan B for the weather.
The French Riviera in May is unpredictable. An afternoon storm can ruin an outdoor shoot. Always plan an indoor Plan B, a backup studio shoot, or at the very least a transparent umbrella for your talent.
2. Mistake the red carpet dress code.
Tuxedos are mandatory for men, long gowns strongly recommended for women at official evening screenings. Delegates have been turned away at the entrance for non-compliant shoes. In 2015, the festival made headlines for refusing women in flat shoes. The rule is strict: anticipate it, do not negotiate it at the last minute.
3. Neglect filming permits.
Certain areas of the Palais, the red carpet and official spaces are subject to strict rights. Filming without authorization in these spaces can result in equipment confiscation and expulsion. Anticipate requests with the festival’s press office.
4. Publish content not validated by your clients.
In festival context, images circulate at a crazy speed. Content published too early, or without validation, can create a crisis in minutes. Set up an ultra-fast validation circuit before posting anything involving talent or brand.
5. Underestimate travel times.
The Cannes City Hall sets up a specific traffic plan from May 11 to 24. The Croisette is partially closed to vehicles. An 800-meter walk can take 25 minutes in the crowd. Plan generously, move early.
6. Rely solely on natural light for your shoots.
The Cannes light is beautiful — but it’s direct, harsh in mid-day, and disappears quickly at night. Without reflectors, diffusers or fill light, your afternoon images will be unusable. Our Cannes Festival teams always travel with a minimal lighting kit.
7. Ignore the Cinéma de la Plage.
Many professionals skip the free screenings at Plage Macé. That’s a mistake. It’s a place of life, encounters, authentic content. This year, the program includes Palme d’or classics. An incomparable setting for offbeat lifestyle content.
8. Saturate your networks with irrelevant content.
Cannes generates a colossal volume of visuals. Your audience will be flooded with festival images. Publish less, publish better. A strong, well-captured visual will always beat ten mediocre photos taken in haste.
9. Forget local press relations.
Accredited journalists and photographers from around the world are present. A good placement of your talent or brand in an international media can be worth more than your entire social content budget. Work your PR as much as your social content.
10. Leave without debriefing and archiving.
At the end of the festival, export, sort, save all your shots. We’ve seen agencies lose entire rushes due to lack of file management rigor. Plan for redundant storage, daily cloud backups, and a post-festival brief upon return.
Acing your red carpet shoot
It’s the most intense, the shortest and the most decisive moment. A red carpet walk lasts between 3 and 8 minutes. In that time, your talent will be photographed by hundreds of professional lenses. Here’s how to leave nothing to chance.
Preparation starts 48h before. Outfit, hair, makeup, jewelry — everything must be validated in fitting, in real conditions: standing, moving, under artificial and natural light. Test the outfit on stairs. Some long gowns prevent lifting the foot more than 15 centimeters.
Arrive at least one hour before the screening. Red carpet access is from the bottom of the steps, sea side. There are badge checks, security airlocks, waits. A talent arriving 20 minutes before is a stressed talent, and stress shows in photos.
Identify your shooting positions in advance. For press photographers, positions are assigned and fixed. For agency and social media teams, you can often place yourselves on the sides or at the bottom of the steps. Scout these spots the day before or two days before.
Brief your talent on poses. On the steps, your talent will face a wall of flashes. A few simple moves make all the difference: looking slightly above the lenses rather than into them, turning the torso three-quarters slightly, breathing slowly before each take. Our directors of photography systematically brief their talent before the climb.
Pay attention to your own artificial light. If you have access to a position close to the carpet, a small compact LED panel can make the difference between a usable image and an image burned out by surrounding flashes.
Prepare the video content separately. Photo and video have different constraints. Photo shooting is done in burst on key moments. Video requires wide shots, tight shots, transitions. Assign distinct people to these two missions. Do not ask your photographer to switch between the two.
Think about the after-carpet. The moment when your talent enters the Palais, descends the interior stairs, meets other guests — that’s when the most natural and strongest images are made. Do not put your cameras away as soon as the carpet ends.
What your content agency must have in its bags
With us, every Cannes mission departs with a precise kit. As an indication, here are the essentials we recommend to our clients who manage their content autonomously:
Equipment side: a full-frame hybrid body with at least a 35mm and an 85mm lens, a video stabilizer, two rechargeable LED panels, duplicate batteries for each device, a redundant hard drive on site, a light tripod with fluid head for video.
Organization side: a day-by-day content schedule with times and people in charge, a shared drive for daily exports, a validation circuit under two hours for urgent publications, a written talent brief with the brand’s visual do’s and don’ts.
Human side: at least two people dedicated to content, one who only produces and one who only publishes and interacts. Don’t confuse the two roles.
We’re here
Our agency Images d’Azur has been supporting brands, talent, fashion agencies and marketing teams at major cultural events for several years. Cannes is our favorite playground — and our highest demand.
If you have a shoot project, a brand activation, a red carpet coverage or a video production in Cannes this year, contact us. Availabilities are running out fast.
📧 [email protected] · 📞 +33 (0)4 93 93 83 29 · 🎥 See our 2026 Cannes Film Festival setup
Have a great festival everyone — see you very soon on the Croisette.
Article written by the Images d’Azur team, content creation agency, photo, video and audiovisual production. Based on the French Riviera.
0 commentaires