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Will the Cannes Film Festival selfie ban click with other festival organisers?
People on the scene at any big event want to be seen. But the Cannes Film Festival has declared its red carpet a selfie-free zone.
Festival Director Thierry Fremaux says he wants the red carpet at the gala event in the south of France to be a more “elegant” place. In his words: “You don’t come to Cannes to be seen, but to see.” Fremaux, who reportedly has called selfie-taking “grotesque,” has vowed to bar anyone who ignores the ban from screenings at Cannes, which runs until May 19.
Will this selfie ban have implications for the wider events industry? It seems doubtful. Most festivals know that people who attend don’t want to do so anonymously: They want to share their self-portrait on Instagram.
As the annual fest opened May 8, some of the Cannes glitterati were seen snapping selfies. News outlets reported that festival hosts scolded some of the camera-toting guests, but no one appears to have been kept out of any screenings.