Getting acclimated

I arrived at my hotel Wednesday afternoon and by the time I got into Cannes, it was 5 p.m. Most of the daily screenings end at 6 p.m., so I didn't really have the time to watch anything. Besides, I know would have fallen asleep in the theater due to jet lag.

I spent the evening wandering around the main festival area, which consists of the Palais de Festival convention center, a few hotels and some outlying areas with pavillions. Cannes is packed with people -- the festival has from 25,000 to 30,000 official attendees, not to mention the people who attend the fringe events. Basically, the town's population grows expontentially during that time.

A vast majority of people wear tuxedos and fancy dresses in the evening, likely because of the scheduled film premieres. However, I doubt most of those people walking around actually get into the premieres -- many appear to be photographers who go black-tie in order to get access to the red carpet.

Now that I've had a good night's sleep, I'm ready to tackle some of the films showing today such as Richard Linklater's "Fast Food Nation."