Dinner at La Cote (artfully arranged mushrooms, fish and a dessert that could properly be called a “confection”) was noisy and cheerful. Terry Savage welcomed us with a quick speech, promising a relaxing evening before we disappeared into dark rooms for four or five days of judging.
I sat in between Carolyn Lowery, Festival Director – she’s been with the Cannes Festival for 23 years! – and Senthil Kumar of JWT. The rest of our table held other members of the radio jury, including Mark Gross, our jury president. “From 8 to 9 I’ll be tanning my backside, and from 9 to 10 the front side. Just bring me drinks.” Having been a Real Men of Genius fan for years, I could only be amazed at being on the same table as its creator.
I left early, as I was still lagged. If I didn’t force myself to sleep I wouldn’t be able to listen to anything but the sound of one pillow calling.
I was going to set up a sub-blog for my Cannes judging experience, but SFR wifi has not been the most reliable. I microblog via mobile on Twitter so you can follow me there in the meantime.