Verified source report
Cannes is a beautiful, gruelling circus. I wouldn’t quit it for anything | Agnès Poirier
The festival is a celebration of cinema and a frantic trade show all at once. After 25 years, I can’t help but go back Nothing prepares you for the shock that is the Cannes film festival: the adrenaline, the fatigue, the elation and the emotion, but also the hunger, the anger, the magic and the ridicule. For young cinephiles, and for almost everybody who works in the film industry, it is the mecca of cinema and has been so for nearly eight decades. Anyone going for the first time this week, as I did 25 years ago, should not listen to the old grognards – Cannes’ battle-worn veterans – who will lament that the festival has become an abominable circus and swear this year will be their last. It is a circus, and you can bet they will be back for as long as their knees can take it. For there is nothing quite like it. Born to counteract Benito Mussolini’s Venice film festival, its first edition
What happened
According to The Guardian’s source item, Cannes is a beautiful, gruelling circus. I wouldn’t quit it for anything | Agnès Poirier, The festival is a celebration of cinema and a frantic trade show all at once. After 25 years, I can’t help but go back Nothing prepares you for the shock that is the Cannes film festival: the adrenaline, the fatigue, the elation and the emotion, but also the hunger, the anger, the magic and the ridicule. For young cinephiles, and for almost everybody who works in the film industry, it is the mecca of cinema and has been so for nearly eight decades. Anyone going for the first time this week, as I did 25 years ago, should not listen to the old grognards – Cannes’ battle-worn veterans – who will lament that the festival has become an abominable circus and swear this year will be their last. It is a circus, and you can bet they will be back for as long as their knees can take it. For there is nothing quite like it. Born to counteract Benito Mussolini’s Venice film festival, its first edition
Context
The development sits in VINI’s Global file for readers following international affairs, institutions, conflict, diplomacy, economics, and cross-border consequences. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The source item is dated 2026-05-13T04:00:19+00:00.
What to watch
Open questions include whether primary sources issue follow-up statements, whether local or market impacts become clearer, and whether additional reporting changes the timeline or adds material context.
Source
Primary source: Cannes is a beautiful, gruelling circus. I wouldn’t quit it for anything | Agnès Poirier via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.
This source-cited VINI report links to the original publisher record. VINI does not republish third-party article bodies without rights clearance. 1 source listed.
Source links
- Cannes is a beautiful, gruelling circus. I wouldn’t quit it for anything | Agnès PoirierThe Guardian - 2026-05-13T04:00:19+00:00
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