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At 3:45 a.m., we got up—groggy, underdressed, and already regretting everything.

By 4:30, we were in the standby line for Kinds of Kindness, fitted in tuxes and long dresses, and not even first. A trio of French cinephiles had beaten us there. 

The hours between 5 and 8 were rough: freezing temps, dead phones, quiet misery. But by 9, the sun rose, the crepes arrived, and we started to feel human again. We took shifts walking to the beachside Microsoft Café, where you could get free espressos and fruit skewers.

Still, the line swelled. Tension rose. Would all this actually pay off?

Nathan, one of the French guys, told us how he waited 15 hours yesterday for Megalopolis and still got shoved aside last minute. His friend started handing out numbered slips to hold everyone’s place. It helped. But even as 6 pm neared and stars walked the red carpet, we weren’t sure we’d make it inside.

Cannes (Part I), May 2024
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