2016 Cannes International Film Festival

After making the inconsequential airplane farce I’m So Excited! (arguably his weakest film in a career spanning 36 years), Pedro Almodovar is back on terra firma with Julieta, a femme-driven tale that justifies his title as a great woman's director, or rather a filmmaker who has specialized in telling emotionally touching stories about all kinds of women--of various ages, social classes, professions. Julieta has already opened in Spain, but it receives its high-prtofile international premiere at the Cannes Film Festival (in competition).

Only a couple of days left before the main prizes are awarded, tents are taken down and the movie circus leaves town.   The future beyond the Palais all of a sudden becomes urgent.

And then suddenly all the films, all the directors and all the discussions were somehow put aside. Because of a dress.

With Paterson, Jim Jarmusch, the quintessentially indie director--one of the few left in the U. S.

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The sun is shining on Cannes despite predictions of a soggy first week. While much work is being done, when the stars emerge to promote their movies sophisticatedly crafted bling catches the spotlights.

The pace has picked up - this is the home stretch towards the coveted Palme D'Or and all the other awards. Equally, if not more important, is nabbing a distributor for your film, to ensure that the work will live on beyond the confines of the Croisette.

We are all familiar with the statistics: 8% of first time directors are women. 5% of films made are by women.

The sun came out and smiled: Cannes was dominated by women, even if for a moment. As the 69th edition of the festival comes to a pivot point - the halfway mark, the critical first weekend when trends and favorites begin to pop up - one title was on everybody's lips: American Honey, a long (162 minutes), dazzling exploration of millenial angst on the roads of America, served straight up from the mind of director Andrea Arnold, a two-twice Jury Prize winner in Cannes.

Cannes begs the question: what to do with your hair when the ocean is a seashell throw away? To add to the challenge, opening day at Cannes produced showers mere hours before the opening gala. For the most part hair was worn in a ‘just up from the beach’ way.