With a lot of European films at the Cannes Film Festival (French films alone in region of 20) and no Brit flicks, it’s a hard sell for the UK press and readership. Rune Hellestad, a press photographer of over thirty years who has seen the golden days of press photography comments, “I hardly remember seeing any sales for European premieres nowadays. I do the photos and file them but they haven’t made me any richer to be honest.”

A few years ago, we spoke to another UK-based journalist working for a photo agency serving photos worldwide. When you are on a payroll, you have no say over the premieres and events you cover. The photographer in question was tasked with photographing all Asian film premieres as a top priority. Granted, she probably sold a few good photos of Bong Joon Ho (Parasite) that year. But how relevant are other, lesser known films. Rune confirms our suspicion: “I’ve not sold any photos for Asian premieres in the past few years.”

Sad as it is, Cannes needs Hollywood stardust to attract the international press. It also needs more British films to attract the UK press and coverage. It’s a fine balancing act that any festival that wants to remain viable needs to get right.

Stephanie Takyi, a Daily Mail journalist attending the festival in professional capacity told Ikon that Daily Mail editorial team are keen to have British names on the red carpet at the opening night. But with no Brits on a judging panel or among the cast, the printed copy will mainly run an opinion piece.