Last year many of my friends went to the Cannes Film Festival - lucky devils - while I stayed behind.
This year, I'm glad to say, luck is on my side. And I'm able to take a few days off to sun myself in the South of France, meet some old friends, and hopefully pitch some movie projects.
The first time I went to Cannes I stayed in a friend's hotel room, on the floor, and we were so broke we had a no-food budget - we weren't allowed to spend anything on food or drink, we had to live on free champagne and canapes. It was tough, but someone had to do it...
This time, I've booked an apartment off the Rue D'Antibes, and I may even pay for the occasional meal. And, together with a writer friend, I'll be meeting film financiers, attending a party on a yacht, and generally enjoying myself. (Though of course - it's hard work too!)
Cannes is a crazy event. All the film people who live in London and have offices in adjoining buildings move to France for a week and meet each other over there. The scale of the festival is vast - it's a film festival but also a business conference and also an opportunity for wanabee film-makers to hang around in the hope that fame and fortune are contagious. I suppose it's like having WorldCon and a Book Fair in the same place and same time.
And so, my bags are packed, my schmooze has been well oiled; time for the networking to commence...