There are a handful of places that call to cinephiles everywhere like a siren song: the Criterion Closet, the AMC movie theater inhabited by a bedazzled-jumpsuit-wearing Nicole Kidman or the New Beverly Cinema, to list a few. However, few are quite as exclusive — and prestigious — as the annual Cannes Film Festival.

For the festival’s 78th iteration, the School of Cinematic Arts will be sending 12 film-loving students as student journalists via the Cannes Classics program headed by SCA’s festivals and distribution director, Sandrine Cassidy.

The program started four years ago, with students solely practicing their media skills by writing reviews of the films screened at the festival and interviewing attendees; however, the program has evolved to include the students promoting their work with the group’s website, blog and social media.

“[The students] go to the festival; they attend the screenings; they attend everything they want,” Cassidy said. “But there will also be the vlog, in a way, to share their experience. I think journalism can be broad. … It’s really about exploring. It’s about having an opportunity and a focus, really working as a team.” 

The Cannes Classics program promises participants the ultimate opportunity to grow as students and future members of the film industry, with several students reapplying to participate in the program several times during their tenures at the University. Emma Fergusson, a second-year graduate student studying cinematic arts, film and television production, will be going to Cannes for the second time through the program after being inspired by her first Cannes experience.

“[Cannes] is one of those things where once you go, it’s kind of like, ‘Wow, I can’t imagine going on normally in life without returning to this,’” Fergusson said. “That sounds really crazy, but it’s such a singular kind of experience. And if you go and it’s something that you enjoy and that gets you going, you want to come back and you want to continue to have that experience and learn from that experience.”

According to Cassidy, the program aims to be a “lifetime experience” as opposed to simply being a working experience. Rather than the program guiding the students’ approach to organizing their work, the students themselves take on different roles within the program’s execution, from organizing a Cannes countdown on the program’s Instagram to running and organizing the website alongside their duty of reviewing films screened at the festival.

Colin Kerekes, a sophomore majoring in cinematic arts, film and television production, has taken a focus on the group’s marketing to promote the blog while also contributing reviews as a student journalist.

“The whole reason for the program existing is to promote the blog and share student writing,” Kerekes said. “[Cassidy] was ideating early on in the process some sort of way to get people interested in reading the blog and in learning about the program through video, especially on social media and such.”

At the heart of the program, however, lie the voices of the students, as the program democratizes student access to some of the most esteemed works and artists in the film industry. Students listed some of their most anticipated films, including Wes Anderson’s “The Phoenician Scheme” and Lynne Ramsay’s “Die, My Love.”

“To be in theaters from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. watching four films a day in probably the biggest festival in the world right now is a dream that I didn’t even think of a few years back,” said Aseer Adeeb, a Cannes Classics member and second-year graduate student studying cinematic arts, film and television production. “To be presented with that opportunity as part of the school was extraordinary.”

This year’s cohort is one of the most diverse groups of disciplines in the program yet. Having access to such a wide array of upcoming cinema presents the chance of indispensable artistic development for Cannes Classics participants as they take in films to review and interview people participating in the festival.

“It’s important to watch as many films as I can, and as many films of varying genres and backgrounds as well,” Kerekes said. “I think the best way to learn effective storytelling is by seeing it and sort of picking up what you like from things, picking what inspires you, and letting that springboard your creative process.”

Not only are program participants taking in the craftsmanship of the work they view, but they are also building their critical skills as prospective filmmakers and industry members.

“Through writing film reviews for the blog and acting as a student journalist, I’m excited to hone in on analytical skills when it comes to film and treat viewing them as more [of] a thematic experience,” Kerekes said. 

The students’ shared passion for the medium of film will fit into and ultimately enhance their experiences as critics, journalists and above all, film lovers, as they dive headfirst into one of the biggest hotspots of cinema in the world together.

“This amazing group of people … [shares] that love and that excitement for cinema, so I’m really excited for that overall experience,” Adeeb said. “For me, everything is about the experience and the joy I get out of [watching movies], and I think that informs stories way more than being obsessed with cinema.”