In this instalment of Screen’s Cannes Close-Up interview series, Louis Balsan – EVP for distribution and acquisitions at production, financing, and sales outfit Anton – shares his insider tips for festival novices, and reveals his most memorable Cannes deal that was closed in the tiny cabin of a yacht. 

Balsan is in Cannes with stop-motion animation Savages, from My Life As A Zucchini director Claude Barras, which has its world premiere at the festival.

Attendees should “prioritise films and build the rest of your schedule around that and not the other way around,” says Balsan. “The drinks and all – that’s nice. Meetings are very important, but I think watching the films is in any case a very good kickstarter for any conversation.”

Watch the full interview above to hear about Balsan’s nautical Cannes negotiations, a hot new restaurant he’s discovered this year, and his must-see film at the festival. 

Cannes Close-Up sees leading figures from the international film industry give their inside insight into their careers and navigating the Cannes Film Festival, with interviews set to run throughout the event.

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