Cannes 2006

FEATURE REPORT: GILLES JACOB LOOKS TO THE FUTURE The 59th Festival de Cannes (17-28 May 2006) was already preparing for its 60th birthday party in 2007. That's the impression I got during an all-embracing and far-ranging conversation with Gilles Jacob, festival President and close observer of ongoing events on the Côte d'Azur since 1964, back when he covered the scene as a French journalist from Paris. When I asked him where he housed all the guests and participants at this year's festival, he replied bluntly: "We don't!" Adding with a smile: "To fit everyone under the skirt of Cannes during the festival, we would require 10,000 more rooms. That means four times more than what we already have!" Yet, instead of musing over the possibility of reducing the size of the Cannes festival in the future, Gilles Jacob talked about expanding its scope even further. "Right now, we need...