Every year, along side the Cannes Film Festival, Cannes Classics plays a selection of older films, screened on the beach at the Cinema de la Plage and open to the public. In the years I’ve attended they’ve played Jaws, James Bond, and a bunch of other great films. This year’s program was no exception. On opening night, they played one of my all time favorites, Fellini’s 8 ½. On the nights to follow they played: the Warriors, Hairspray, Purple Rain and for the 30^th anniversary of the Spaghetti Western, they featured Sergio Leone’s: For a Few Dollars More; and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. (Incidentally, A Fist Full of Dollars also played in the Grand Théâtre Lumière closing out the festival on the red carpet)

Well, here I am, on the beach on the last night of the 67^th annual Cannes Film Festival and Prince’s Purple Rain is coming to a close; and I’m waiting to hear about the Queer Palm closing party. During the festival, numerous parallel competitions take place. One such contest is the Queer Palm. Queer Palm is designed to highlight the competition films that best represent LGBT themes and bring them to the foreground in an effort towards broader cultural awareness. A friend of mine is on the jury this year so I’ve gone to a number of their events.

Just as the film is about to close, I get an email. The closing night party is at Silencio. I’m already a member, so getting in shouldn’t be much of a bother. But I’m on the list now too. During Cannes, you can never be sure about such things. You can be on the list, and still denied, while conversely you can sneak your way in to tons of events. Before I go on, a bit on Silencio. Silencio is a private venue open for the duration of the festival. They have a main location in Paris. And they feature pop-up venues throughout the world during significant art events. The venue and interior is entirely conceived and designed by David Lynch. As you walk in, it’s split into two. To the right is the restaurant and to the left is the club. During the festival members can dine on a bespoke David Toutain menu prepared specifically for this year’s event. Breakfast starts at 8am, lunch at noon, and dinner at 8pm.

Closing night was a blast. The cocktails at the bar were good. Filmmaker and all around queer rabble-rouser Bruce LaBruce of Toronto spun records into the night. It was loud. We danced.

by Steven C Wallace - www.scwfilms.com