So it seems that this year, destiny wanted to keep us (and your films) from getting to Cannes. Eyjafjallajokull, Iceland's unpronounceable volcano and its resulting  ash cloud, inclement weather, train strikes and general mayhem all round have conspired to make life difficult but nothing stops ÉCU from getting to Cannes! So it is with pleasure that I am able to announce that the European Independent Film Festival - Europe's foremost festival for independent filmmakers -will be at Cannes from the 14th to 20th of May. We will be braving the 10ft waves that battered the Croisette last week and heading to the
beach, so if you are crazy enough to join us then don your wellingtons and we'll see you there!

Scott Hillier, our charismatic leader, will be keeping his eyes peeled for ÉCU alumni Christian Deleavi, Jessica Morris, Cassandra Hamilton & Fabien Dubois - all of whom have admitted that they will be in Cannes this year - and hopefully many more. Just a word of warning: Scott has just got a new iphone (boys and toys!). On the positive side, this does mean that if you cannot make it to Cannes, you can stay updated on all the ÉCU news thanks to Twitter and Facebook..

Don't forget that we are now Open for Submissions in the following ten categories:

• European Dramatic Feature                            Non European Dramatic Feature
• European Dramatic Short                               Non European Dramatic Short
• European Documentary                                  Non European Documentary
• European Student
• European Animation
• European Experimental
• Music Video

 Amber from ECU in Cannes