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Here’s the scene: we were standing in line for The Apprentice catch-up screening at Palais K when Z, E, and I decided we wanted ice cream.

No dinner, no problem. We had time. We walked to Arcades for three oversized scoops (coffee, cinnamon-banana, lemon), then returned cautiously, hoping security wouldn’t confiscate our melting cups.

To my surprise, they didn’t blink. One guard even held the door and told us, in English, “to enjoy.”

So we did… sort of. We stood in line, dripping, frantically racing against the clock and gravity to finish our soupy dessert before heading inside. I’ve never eaten ice cream so fast.

If there’s a message here—and I’m not convinced there is—it’s that sometimes, even at the world’s most prestigious film festival, the best moments come not from the movies but from the mess in between.

Cannes (Part II), May 2024
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