Papa's got a brand new (press) badge

The ability to obtain press credentials is the main reason why I'm at the Cannes Film Festival this year. Without this trusty press badge, my trip would not have been worth it.

This link outlines the steps I took to obtain press credentials.

Tourists who come to the festival without any type of accreditation can't get into the Palais de Festival convention center or any of the surrounding hotels or cinemas that screen most films. In fact, there are only a limited number of events that the public can attend, many of which are old movies shown on the beach, called the Cinéma de la Plage, or the Director's Fortnight, which showcases short films, documentary and feature films that aren't as high profile.

Here is the pecking order of badges, courtesy of the Cannes: A Festival Virgin's Guide Web site:

Black badge
Cinéphiles Accreditation
Organised by the City of Cannes, in association with the Festival, Cinéphiles accreditation enables local residents to see films from the official selection and sidebars in several cinemas around Cannes, and some screenings in the Palais. Cinéphiles accreditation is also open to film enthusiast and education groups (both French and foreign).

Yellow badge
Market Accreditation
Each year, nearly 10,000 industry professionals attend the Marché du Film. Market Accreditation is available to the board members and employees of companies which either operate in the film industry or service the film industry. Market accreditation costs around 299 Euros per person attending from a company.

Blue and pink badges
Press Accreditation
Cannes is one of the largest media events in the world and is attended by around 4,000 journalists, representing 1,500 media outlets in over 75 countries. Media access is managed directly by the Festival de Cannes via its "Press Accreditation Commission." Press credentials come in a range of flavours for different audience levels and media types- in other words, the higher the press outlet's profile, and the more people it reaches, the better the access that will be provided.

White badges
Festival Accreditation
Previously known as "professional accreditation," this is basically your bog-standard credentials for entry to the Cannes' screenings and official activities. Festival Accreditation is available to a range of film industry professions and provides access to all festival venues (the Palais, Riviera, Village International and the major hotels) and to screenings in the official selection and sidebars. Festival accreditation is free.

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I've got a blue badge, which allows me to see all the films in and out of competition, such as "The Da Vinci Code," "X-Men 3," "Clerks 2," "Fast Food Nation," "A Scanner Darkly," "Over the Hedge," "Southland Tales," and "United 93." These films are typically shown once or twice during the festival for people wearing yellow badges and up. Usually, there is an extra screening just for press.

I also can attend most of the market screenings, which are films shown for distributors and buyers. Some of these films, however, are marked as off-limits to the press because the film's creators don't want to generate any negative publicity about the film before it is sold and on the verge of release. Lionsgate's "Akeelah and the Bee," for example, was off-limits to the press because it still is looking for international distribution (it already has a wide release in the U.S.). Fortunately, I managed to swing by the Lionsgate booth and convince a publicist to let me into the screening. Look for my review shortly.

Meanwhile, most people can't attend film premieres -- where directors, actors and actresses arrive at the film by walking the red carpet -- without tickets. These tickets, however, can be easy to obtain if you know the right people or are just persistent. For example, because many members of the press saw and didn't like "The Da Vinci Code," they returned a lot of extra tickets to the premiere, which were given to people even with black badges at the last-minute ticket counter. Once you get a ticket, you must dress up in a gown or tuxedo, because you'll be strolling down the red carpet like everyone else.