I’ll have 10 and 1/2 days at the Cannes Film Festival (Wednesday, 5.15 thru Saturday midday, 5.25) and at least 27 films to view, and that’s with a lot of trims. The non-competitive Great Gatsby on 5.15 (thanks again to Warner Bros. publicity for refusing to let me catch it in NYC last Thursday morning) plus 12 Competition films (Nicolas Winding Refn‘s Only God Forgives, Paolo Sorrentino‘s La Grande Bellezza, Jim Jarmusch‘s Only Lovers Left Alive, Steven Soderbergh‘s Behind the Candelabra, Roman Polanski‘s Venus in Fur, Alexander Payne‘s Nebraska, Francois Ozon‘s Young and Beautiful, Takashi Miike‘s Straw Shield, James Gray‘s The Immigrant, Asghar Farhadi‘s The Past, Arnaud Desplechin‘s Jimmy P., Joel and Ethan Coen‘s Inside Llewyn Davis) for a total of 13.

Plus 5 Un Certain Regards (Sofia Coppola‘s The Bling Ring, James Franco‘s As I Lay Dying, Ryan Coogler‘s Fruitvale Station, Claire Denis‘ Bastards, Hiner Saleem‘s My Sweet Pepperland), 3 more non-competitives (Guillame Canet‘s Blood Ties, J.C. Chandor‘s All Is Lost, Claude Lanzmann‘s Le Dernier des Injustes), 2 Directors’ Fortnight (Ari Folman‘s The Congress, Eric Matti‘s On The Job), 3 Special Screenings (James Toback‘s Seduced and Abandoned, Roman Polanski‘s Weekend of a Champion, Stephen Frears‘ Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight) and 1 Cannes Classic screening (the 3D version of The Last Emperor).

And that’s not counting market screenings, special events, luncheons, press conferences. I’m not even thinking about evening parties which are empty and pointless unless you’re looking for free food. Thank God the drinking distraction is over and done with.