As movie stars arrive at the foot of the Cannes Film Festival red carpeted Stairs for a short stroll through the photographer’s flashes, a crowd of ordinary people gathers hoping to catch a glance at someone famous.

Alas, the red carpet is hidden behind rows of accredited photographers. The only visible stars are on the giant screen overlooking the Stairs. Hundreds of cell phones and compact cameras are pointed to it awaiting the appearance of that favorite actor.

On the sidewalk opposite the Stairs is a special group of dedicated fans. They arrive three days before the launch of the festival to secure their seats and step ladders in front of the red carpet, a prime spot to photograph the stars as they arrive. Most of them are assiduous amateurs who return every year to enrich their photo collection.

This is a made-for-TV giant photocall, not a news event. Photographers and cameramen are required to sport a black tuxedo and assigned a numbered position according to their importance. The intended high-class of the show is ruined by loud pop music and speaker commentaries, much like a spring-break beach party.

All is bright and beautiful in front of the camera, it’s the magic of cinema. As with all magic the tricks are only visible behind the scene. Press photographers and editors do their post-production work in offices in the Palais des Festivals basement, beneath the red carpet. No large comfortable press room here. Press agencies spend a fortune to rent high-speed internet access and a windowless wooden prefab office, as small as 9m2. The picture editors spend 12-15 hours daily in this space for the festival’s duration.

Some people are in Cannes during the festival to actually try to see selected movies. Anonymous cinephiles stand at the entrance of the Palais des Festivals brandishing placards asking professionals coming in and out for spare invitations for the next film presentation. They are dressed-up to be allowed in should they be lucky enough to get one.

The bottom-line is, if you’re in Cannes during the Festival, the only sure way to see movie stars is to walk around the bus stops near city hall:

It has begun! Pro photographers shoot features, amateur photographers guard their step ladders -chained to fences in front of the venue three days earlier- and the city’s energy level rises prior to the evening’s opening ceremony. When it finally gets under way, a crowd is there to attempt to catch a glimpse and grab a frame of the movie stars climbing the famous red carpeted steps. Click on the photo to view the gallery.

This year again I am commissioned by ARTE, the franco-german TV channel, to cover their activities during the festival. This means ten days of lunches, cocktails and lounge parties on the yacht rented for the event to greet actors, directors and producers of the 15 films produced by ARTE and presented in the festival.

This should be an enjoyable two weeks but a tougher job than it sounds. Really. First lounge party tomorrow…

In September 2010 I set out to cover the large demonstration against the French government’s planned retirement reform by shooting portraits of the retirees participating to support the movement. The angle for this series was to compare these retirees’ work history and retirement pension to that of younger generations still at work -and demonstrating.

I planned on using the same studio set up used to shoot the two large demonstrations against Nicolas Sarkozy’s politics which brought huge crowds from the private and public sector together -a rarity in France where people usually demonstrate to attract attention to their own specific issues. This meant two lighboxes and a black cloth backdrop installed on the side of the demonstration’s path, Boulevard Beaumarchais. It also meant having an assistant to watch over the studio and write down the “model’s” testimonial (name, age, profession and in one sentence why they were demonstrating) while I was out casting in the marching crowd. Speed of operation was essential in this shoot: the demonstrators usually marched with a group they didn’t want to loose in the crowd. So every portrait and interview had to be made in less than a couple minutes, five at the most.

Alas my small pool of potential assistants was unavailable for the retirement demonstration. I had just treated myself to the iPhone 4 and was amazed at how good the pictures it produced were. I especially enjoyed playing around with the very popular Hipstamatic application. So I decided to shoot my retirees with my phone.

Along the path of the demonstration I found a neutral backdrop -the metallic curtain of a closed shop on Boulevard Beaumarchais- and had my models pose in front of it. In those ancient days (this was six months ago, an eternity in geekland) the Hipstamatic application was very slow at processing each picture taken. I had to wait 30 seconds to see the result -now you can take up to nine photos while the app processes in the background. That meant I only had time to shoot one picture per retiree, do the quick interview and release him or her. All pictures turned out ok, some better than others but all were usable.

It felt strange to work with a telephone but none of my subjects noticed or said anything about it.

I sent the pictures to my agency, Sipa Press, and they were picked-up by the national magazine Le Nouvel Observateur to illustrate a story on Sarkozy’s retirement reform plan.

Publication Nouvel Observateur n°2394 du 23 au 29 septembre 2010, dossier sur les retraites.

The reform was passed later in the year.

I enjoy shooting with this iPhone/Hipstamatic combination. It’s light, it’s point and shoot and the results are unpredictable -much like that of a Holga. I got over the pixel-count and high ISO race and miss the film’s imperfections. During my last trip to the US, doing research for a personal project (more on that in a future post), I found myself shooting mostly with my phone instead of my Canon 5D Mark II. It allowed me to take quick photographic notes, which was what I needed to feed my reflexion on the project.

Saturday I visited the Christian Boltanski show at the Grand Palais. Took a few photos showing the impressive set-up, but you absolutely have to go to actually feel it. Some fun too, with “nurses” recording visitors’ heart beats, regularly emerging from their recording booths into the white neon-lit waiting room to call on the next number.

Then on Sunday I covered the large anti-abortion demonstration, an interesting panel of French -and European- traditionalists:

Puis vient le jour de la finale. Des supporters vont regarder le match sur écran géant au Parc des Princes, autre grand moment offert par notre sélection nationale:

Que mes amis footeux ne prennent pas ombrage, j’aime bien un bon match de foot de temps en temps. Reste que cela fait longtemps que Notre Equipe de France ne nous a pas fait la démonstration de son talent.

The six-hour trip was rythmed over the train’s PA system by Father Marie-Bernard Kientz, preparing passengers for their pilgrimage with prayers and stories on Bernadette Soubirou.

Lourdes is fellinian. It’s a well organized and very lucrative business. Amidst scores of cheap plastic religious memorabilia boutiques moves a crowd of tourists and pildrims of all ages and origins. Daily processions, mass services, prayers at the Grotto, filling-up on water from the miraculous spring, stocking-up on souvenirs, the pilgrim’s day is packed with rituals. It can feel like Disneyland, trying all the rides.

But there’s obviousely more to Lourdes. During the time spent covering the pilgrimage I saw people genuinely care for each-other. A great human experience, even for a non-believer.

Iranian nationals living in Paris and French supporters demonstrate almost daily against the fraud in Iran’s presidential election that saw President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reelected in a landslide. The disputed presidential poll has prompted the biggest street protests in Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Many of the protestors hold pictures by AFP photographer Olivier Laban-Mattei, who made the cover of the press around the world with his great work. Olivier was with AP’s Ben Curtis the last foreign photographer working on the streets of Tehran until he was caught and assigned to his hotel by authorities, condemned to watch the news on TV…

Ils étaient des centaines des milliers à défiler jeudi 29 janvier à Paris. Une masse impressionnante piquée de drapeaux et banderoles, chantant slogans et revendications. Vision si familère qu’elle a le pouvoir de rendre aveugle et sourd.

Qui sont ces gens? À 55 d’entre eux j’ai demandé de poser pour un portrait de face (ou pas), leur prénom, leur profession, et en une phrase la raison de leur présence à la manifestation.

Un seul a prononcé le mot «crise», pour réclamer justice. Ils ont parlé difficulté financière due aux bas salaires, ou démantèlement du service publique… mais en filigrane leur préoccupation principale apparaît être celle du respect des Droits de l’Homme en France-pays-des-Droits-de-l’Homme. Ils se rendent compte que ces Droits ne sont pas dans les faits un acquis inébranlable. Leur mécontentement a germé bien avant «la crise».
Chacun de ces Individus a sa vie, fait partie d’une famille, d’un groupe, d’une classe… Ils ne se connaissent mais ont en commun le souci du bien être de l’Autre.
En traitant les photos j’ai eu le temps de bien les regarder dans les yeux. Ils ont la foi -au sens laïc du terme.

Entendu au passage d’un cortège de syndicat, répété tel un mantra, au mégaphone: «Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes we caaaaaaaaaan!»

Je tiens tout particulièrement à remercier Virginia Castro pour sa collaboration précieuse et indispensable à la réalisation de cette série de portraits!

Arlette Laguiller en séance de pose, photo Corentin Fohlen (cliquer sur la photo pour accéder à son site).

[UPDATE]
En mars 2009 une deuxième manifestation du même genre a donné lieu à cette série de portraits:

Father Truptil is now the Chaplain for tens of thousands of passengers who move daily in and out of one of the world’s busiest airports. He will serve mass to anyone, adapting the service to all religions. Jews and Muslims have their own room adapted to their specific needs, but there are neither Rabies nor Imams working at the airport.

Greeting passengers with chocolates -it’s Christmas time and “no one ever says no to chocolate”- Father Truptil goes through the ceremony with spirit, his chants colored by the rythm of his military past.

People leave the prayer area reassured, feeling their plane trip will somehow be safer.

I only scratched the surface of the airport’s prayer areas, shooting on deadline for the French daily La Croix. Father Truptil was enthused over the idea of seeing more of me working on the subject, but the airport’s press officer denied me further access based on non-credible arguments.

But I’ll be back!