The photographs have been published. The jury decisions have been debated. The stars have flown home. And now, quietly, the real work of Cannes begins.

At every corner of Cannes, there is an opportunity waiting to unfold. Inside the meeting hubs and beyond them, a single conversation with the right person can alter the course of a film’s journey. From the Marché du Film to the Riviera cafés and the length of the Croisette, Cannes operates as much on chance encounters as it does on official premieres.

This is the side of the festival that cameras rarely capture: The conversations that shape which films move forward, which stories find audiences across borders, and which filmmakers secure not just another opportunity, but sometimes their very first one. Having returned to Cannes year after year, I have come to believe that its most defining moments rarely happen in front of photographers. They happen in packed meeting rooms at the Marché du Film, in hotel lobbies between appointments, or over coffees that turn into collaborations months later.

The market beneath the festival

I see the same truth play out in Cannes year after year: While the festival commands the headlines, the Marché du Film is where the future of cinema is often negotiated.

According to Marché du Film, in 2024 alone, the market brought together nearly 14,000 film professionals from over 140 countries, producers, distributors, sales agents, streamers, and festival programmers all looking to discover films and build partnerships. A screening may create visibility, but it is often the meeting that follows that shapes a film’s journey ahead.

The........

© Indian Express