2017 Cannes Days

Some awards have already been given - Cinefondation, Directors Fortnight, Un Certain Regard, Critics' Week - and as of end of day today, with the gala premiere of Lynne Ramsay's You Were Never Really Here, all films in competition would have been screened. A thick veil of suspense envelops the Croisette as Pedro Almodóvar's jury debates the merits of this jubilee year's selection.

Consider the life of a Cannes jury member - there's basically two activities in her/his agenda:  watching the best international films available at the moment and attending whatever events tickle her/his fancy among the vast opportunities available; this, in a country famous for the excellence of its cuisine, wines and parties. The job, of course, also comes with a tremendous amount of pressure and responsibility.

The day started in a flurry of actvity - panels, a master class, parties, the massive AMFAR benefit at the Hotel du Cap in Cap d'Antibes - and ended with a surprise: the longest standing ovation of the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. Not for a film: for a TV series.

Some decades down the line, how will the 70th Cannes Film Festival be remembered? From an in-the-moment point of view, this jubilee iteration of the venerable event is being shaped by the forces of new media - streaming platforms, virtual reality, TV-as-cinema - and women. Lots of women - behind the camera, in front of the camera, telling women's stories and universal themes from a female perspective.

As Cannes passed its midpoint, one name seemed to be on everybody's lips: Nicole Kidman. The first of three films with Nicole leading the cast, Yorgos Lanthimos' The Killing of a Sacred Deer, shook the Palais with riotous applause, four minutes of which were dedicated to Nicole, who plays the wife of Colin Farrell's brilliant neurosurgeon, the pivot of a complicated family drama.

The first weekend of Cannes is party time par excellence - and the HFPA, which already throws the Party of the Year (a little thing called the Golden Globes.

The weather is sunny and warm, sunscreen is an item in hot demand and the HFPA is headquartered on the beach - Nikki Beach, to be exact, on the sand across the Croisette. The first weekend rolled in, in full force, signaling that the midpoint of the festival is within reach, and that favorites and trends will soon take over the conversation.

It took Cannes over 40 years to recognize the work of women behind the camera - Jane Campion took the spot with The Piano in 1993. And now they're everywhere: this year the contingent of women directors, producers and lead actresses is, as the French say, incontournable.

Cannes is aspirational - the blend of unadultered Riviera douceur and Hollywood glamour creates a unique experience for novice and experienced festivalgoer alike. The small city - population 73,000 - changes with the influx of the show business travelling circus and the cohorts it drags around, and it has changed even more in the last couple of years, with heavier security everywhere.

Security was tight, the weather was balmy and the stars came out in full force - the 70th Cannes Film Festival is officially open.