Cannes

    By the looks of the storm-wrecked beaches days before, it would have seemed impossible for Cannes to transform into the miniature Hollywood it has become this week. Just days before the festival kicked off, the city was hit with Hawaii-sized waves and beach-ravaging winds. The coastline, speckled with restaurants and watersport rental agencies, was severely damaged. Entrepreneurs acted quickly to repair their destroyed properties, and for the first time there was a feeling of stress and rush in the normally slow-paced Cannes. Despite the unsightly yellow bulldozers hard at work on the beaches, nothing has prevented this resilient community from transforming into an oasis of glitz and glamour just in time for the stars to come out.

    The 63rd annual Festival de Cannes has turned this quiet beach town upside down. The population has noticeably multiplied, and the buzz of international tourists has consumed the city's typically local atmosphere. New trendy restaurants have popped up out of nowhere, and every patio is packed with film enthusiasts and entrepreneurs alike. Menus and hours have been formatted to cater to the town's more fast-paced, business-minded clientele. More restaurants and stores have committed to staying open non-stop, and the unfamiliar sound of honking horns fills the air. Seeming more like Los Angeles than the French Riviera, the festival traffic causes pandemonium in the usually serene streets near the Croisette.

    The normally understated buildings on the Croisette are now plastered with extravagant billboards and fluorescent lights reminiscent of New York City's Times Square. The window displays on the Croisette have gone from resort chic to black tie razzle-dazzle in a matter of days, reflecting the style of its new opulent guests. The must-have accessory has become the Film Festival badge, hanging from a simple black lanyard, worn by nearly every person strolling the streets near the Palais des Festivals. With the paparazzi photographing nearly everything in sight, anyone can feel like a celebrity in this show-biz atmosphere. The sun is shining and the yachts are abounding, and the 63rd annual Festival de Cannes is off to a promising start.

Lauren Ellison/Summer Hawkins