‘72th Cannes festival was the worst film festival but the best OFF de Cannes festival.’

During 72th Cannes Film Festival, 2019 May, Alain Zirah and Anne Gomis were happy to put the contest winners under the limelights during differents events.

The model Annie Kinnen, our swiss banker, the producer Steven Nia, the fashion designer Valeriya Banina, Alain Zirah and the singer Richard Rivault.

An interview about 2019 Cannes Festival with Alain Zirah

1.Alain Zirah, how was the 72nd Cannes Film Festival?

As every year, this festival was all about happiness. I have been present at the Cannes Film Festival since 1983 and have always had intensemoments there. As the founder of the OFF de Cannes festival founder, I have to be present, every year, and enjoy it tremendously for the duration of the festival. This month of May was rather rainy, but don’t we say “rainy wedding, happy marriage”? The stars only went in black glass cars from their hotel to their job and then back to their hotel. There is not the same relations with the public. The film selection could be more provocative and the five stars hotel were half booked. But it was a great time as each time in May. We are always very happy to meet again our fantastic friends from each parts of the planet. And we meet new people each day. With some of them we'll create real friendship or good partnership.  

The fashion designer Serine Kurt won the Fashion Grand Prix of the Great International Web Contest. Alain Zirah & Aleah Leigh (Dragon Lady Productions) present her beautiful models with Anne Gomis and Angelique Brando.

2. What is the OFF de Cannes festival?

The OFF de Cannes festival is made oftalented discoverers who are at the forefront of the Cannes Film Festival and are preparing the films that will be under the spotlight tomorrow. We meet in Cannes, during the festival, for artistic events that bring together cinema, music, writing, fashion and visual arts. Since 2005, we have gathered a pool of talents who are often multidisciplinary artists with whom we intertwinein events, films projects, photo shootings, painting exhibitions, musical showcases and literary meetings, in different cities. The OFF de Cannes festival hasgrown with the Great International Web Contest, created by Anne Gomis, with a jury of professionals who select the most creative artists and monitor their work. We help them to produce their works and above all give them an international visibility on social networks, particularly among 190,000 international film professionals.

This year, the famous writer and businessman Paul-Loup Sulitzer has accepted to lead our events as OFF de Cannes festival’s patron. Known for his books Money, Cash, Fortune, The GreenKing,he created a genre calledthe “Financial Western” and sold 70 million books, translated into more than 40 languages. 

The famous writer and businessman Paul-Loup Sulitzer, patron for OFF de Cannes 2019, Alain Zirah and Anne Gomis organised the ceremony in the Celebrities Bar inside the five stars Carlton Cannes. 

3. What were your highlights during this festival?

On May 16, we started the festival with a photo shooting in the pool of a beautiful Cannes villa with dressed models swimming in the pool for advertising photos forthe champagne brand I represent.

That same evening, a Masterclass was held in the prestigious Majestic-Barriere Hotel lounge, organized by Alain Zirah and Anne Gomis with the testimonies of Tenzin Kunchap, Tibetan director and author of the book The Rebel Monk, then of Tyrone Bacchus, English director and close friend of Quentin Tarantino, and ofAlexandre Schoedler, writer and author of a book on Alexander the Great. After the presentation of his script and a statement about the differences between a script and a novel, the delighted students were witness to the arrival of actors Alain Chabat and Gérard Darmon, who came to promote the 25th anniversary of their cult film La Cité de la Peur. The students of the Noventis Actors School of Marseille, supervised by their teacher Sabine Evrard, were amazed by the advicesgiven during this Masterclass and will participate next year in Anne Gomis’ Great International Web Contest.

Alain Zirah and Anne Gomis organised with Sabine Evrard a cinema masterclass in Majestic lounge for the actor's school with the participation of Alexandre Schoedler, writer, Tenzin Kunchap from Tibet and Terrence Bacchus, director from London.

The next day took place our big MAGNIFICENT evening organized by Dragon Lady Productions in a luxurious villa on the heights of Cannes. The OFF de Cannes festival propelled with our British and American partners many new talents high on the screens of Cannes. Fashion designers and models paraded in catwalks around the pool where Aleah Leigh, organizer of the event with Dragon Lady Productions, Olympia andA Gellini, werewaiting for them. Gellini is thefounder of the World Film Institute and president of the jury for the Grand Concours International du Web. Since 2016, Anne Gomis and I have been co-producing with him the Family Film Awards. The next edition will take place on September, 29th in Los Angeles. Steven Nia, President of Wardour Studios Hollywood, participated in the production of the blockbuster Avengers-Endgame and announcedthe winners of the contest with Angelina Leo, for the W1 platform. The Cannes 2019 Designer showcase & film Networking Soirée were very much appreciated by verymany guests, some of whom considered it one of the most beautiful parties of this festival.

US producer Steven Nia (Wardour Studios) and british Aleah Leigh (Dragon lady Productions) joined Anne Gomis and the models in Villa Jolie

On Saturday May 18, we were gathered around fashion by our partner Bakana on the rooftop of the Radisson Blu hotel. Models in sumptuous dresses and fashion designers followed one another on the red carpet to the great delight of photographers in a happy few groupwhich attendedsuch high-quality performances.

On May 23, the famous writer and businessman Paul Loup Sulitzer headedthe events as sponsor of the OFF de Cannes festival, during this exceptional event which takes place in the “Bar des Célébrités” in Carlton. The jury, completed by French concert pianist Eric Ferrer, Indian dancer, musician and director Raghunath Manet, American actress Judi Beecher (Armaguedon), ambassador Jessica Devillez known as “Bijou” and the famous Tony Stark introduced themselves before the winners were announced. We also payed tribute to three recently deceased friends who will remain key figures at the Cannes Film Festival: Serge Uzan, Philippe Carrese and Clement von Frankenstein.

Anne Gomis, Paul Loup Sulitzer, Supriya Ansuya Devi Rathoar, Raghunath Manet and Alain Zirah.

On May 26th, we were in Monaco where the Formula 1 Grand Prix is taking place. We attended it from the terrace on the 26th floor of a luxurious apartment in the principality, accompanied by our patron Paul-Loup Sulitzer and his partner Supriya. The most beautiful yachts werevisible in the bay as well as the boats of international billionaires. A lot of emotions duringthis beautiful day.

4. Who are the winners of the 2019 Great International Web Contest’s OFF de Cannes Grand Prizes?

Serine Kurt (Fashion) for the quality, originality and glamour of the Fashion designer’s creations as well as for her wedding dresses. She came with models wearing her creations. Fox Eye (Photo) the photographer of the stars, for the quality of her artistic photos but also for her endearing personality, her big heart and her availability. We were happy to give her the OFF de Cannes diplome with Julien Ravier, the representative mayor of Marseille, during her last exhibition. Steven Neill(Painting) for the quality and great production of his portraits of stars, Indians but also his portraits of women expressingsensuality. François Darietto(Literature) for his first novel ReZo on the trafficking of narcotics in Marseille and an investigation between local underworld and politicians driven by greedfor success. Marly Ramos(Poetry) for the singing sounds of the poet from El Salvador’s Portuguese writing. D-Lisha for the originality of her voice and the quality of her video clip “Sexy Nights” and Marina Delmonde for the accuracy of her interpretations are the two Grand Prix ex-aequo awarded in the Music category. Alexandre Laugier obtains the long-awaited 2019 OFF de Cannes International Cinema Grand Prize for his film “Amour-eux”. We were wery happy to give him his diplome in the city of Hyeres, inside the somptuous Casino Les Palmiers after the charity avant-premiere of his film with the Jean Marc Pedrona organisation "Le Rocher d'Arcadie". This will certainly help the young director to produce and realize his new science fiction film project in the PACA region and bring some visibility to Pedrona's organisation.

The OFF de Cannes were the first to highlight bloggers backin 2005 and toreward these artists with texts, photos and videos, cinema, fashion and much more. The 2019 OFF de Cannes Blog Special Grand Prize wasawarded to the sublime Candice Maury for her blog www.spicylips.ch. On the cosy carpets of the Carlton, she set out to demonstrate the “pimp up” created by her to dress women’s legs. After his show case, Paul Loup Sulitzer, patron of the event, awarded a prize to the Cameroonian singer Prince Kestamg who received the 2019 OFF de Cannes Honorary Awards for the originality of his joyful song. The singer launched on June 7 his summer hit Dance Dance Beautiful People. We were very happy to give him his diplome in the Royal Convent of Saint Maximin june 21st during the Royal Art Festival.   

Prince Kestamg receive the Great International OFF de Cannes Web Contest Awards in the Royal Convent of Saint Maximin on a music by David Cacot during Aurore Sorokaty's Royal Art festival.

5. What are your projects after the Cannes Film Festival?

On June 21st and 22nd, Anne Gomis and myself were in the Royal Convent of Saint Maximin, a former Dominican convent dating from the 13th century, where the relics of Mary Magdalene are kept, for a weekend dedicated to writing, painting, fashion and, of course, the celebration of music.

In the literary field, I continue to promote my book Forbidden to Men during several salons and literary meetings on seaside resorts and continue to write an essay about Rock music. Thematically and not chronologically. The greatest rock stars seen through the prism of my encounters. Who are the stars and what influences they have had on my life?  I also continue the novel from the film Forbidden Visions, which I co-directed as long feature with Anne Gomis and the sequel of Kat Ladies, a universe of young masked heroins in pursuit of a serial killer, between France, India and the United States.

Another major project is the production of a web series around super-heroins empowered by ancient goddesses and surfing the girl power wave.

Karen Agopian and Sophie Campo join the team and became some of the Power Pop Girls.

Andre Lenzi and Karen Agopian, the 2017 Great International OFF de Cannes Web Contest winners, will be in LA September 29th for the 23rd Family Film Awards. 

21st september, Anne Gomis and myself will be in London for our partner Aleah Leigh's event The Alternative Fashion and Integrity Awards 2019 and film networking soirée. Then September 29th, we had to join our partner and friend Olympia A. Gellini in Los Angeles to coproduce the 23rd Family Film Awards.

2020 will be the 15th anniversary of the OFF de Cannes festival and a key year. Anne Gomis and myself have already begun the implementation of a retrospective which could take the form of exhibitions of outstanding photographs of the events during these fifteen years, but also of an encyclopedic book about Cannes Film Festival.

Enough to fully occupy mydays. Yes, I admit it, I’m a very active person.

More information:www.off-de-cannes.webs.com