Cannes, France: The glitz and glamour of the 78th Cannes Film Festival faced an unprecedented challenge on Saturday as a five-hour-long power outage plunged the city into darkness, significantly impacting the much-anticipated awards ceremony. While the electricity finally flickered back on around 3:30 p.m. local time, the morning saw a scramble to ensure the festival’s grand closing proceeded without a hitch.
The Palais des Festivals, the beating heart of the festival, commendably switched to an independent power supply, ensuring that the closing ceremony and all scheduled events inside carried on as planned. However, the wider city bore the brunt of the disruption. Films paused mid-showing in various screening rooms, and even the bustling J.W. Marriott, a key festival hub, experienced intermittent power, leaving many attendees struggling for internet connectivity.
Initial reports from Franceinfo suggested a more sinister cause for the blackout, hinting at “foul play.” Two suspected arson acts overnight and the discovery of several power line pylons seemingly sawn off in the Alpes-Maritimes region raised alarm bells. Karin Topin-Condomitti, director of services at the Cannes city hall, acknowledged the reports and stated that an investigation would likely be launched to ascertain if the outage was indeed a malicious act.
The power cut, which began around 10:15 a.m. as the press conference for Kelly Reichardt’s film “The Mastermind” was underway, wreaked havoc on daily life. Numerous establishments either closed their doors or resorted to cash-only transactions, a significant problem as ATMs across the city also went down. The mayor of Cannes, David Lisnard, assured the public that power company EDF was working diligently to restore full power. Meanwhile, the festival representatives confirmed that while the Palais operated on its own supply, screenings at the Cineum were temporarily suspended.
Despite the chaotic start to the day, the 78th Cannes Film Festival concluded with Iranian director Jafar Panahi receiving the prestigious Palme d’Or for his film, ‘It Was Just an Accident’, a testament to the resilience of the cinematic world even in the face of unexpected darkness.
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