In everything Beulah undertakes, we are defined by civic-minded responsibility, rigorous research, global vision, innovative thinking and a passion for design and culture. We frequently look to a range of industry and thought leaders to share their thinking, insights and perspectives, often drawn from lived experiences.
With a wealth of inspiration and rich storytelling at our fingertips, we share this with you by way of our Beulah City Guides Series, an exploration of cities around the world, through the eyes of compelling industry and thought leaders.
Internationally acclaimed creative James Hewison, Former CEO of the Australian Film Institute and former Head of Film at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), has recently partnered with Beulah as the Founder and Creative Director of BETA’s Atelier residency.
Offering a fresh take on transparency, Atelier invites guests into an experimental workspace where a cohort of Melbourne’s most innovative creatives push boundaries with brand partners.
Working on full view to the public in a series of architectural glass cubes, this artisan-in-residency programme lifts the veil on the hidden processes behind the objects that make up our worlds, marking a return to craftsmanship in a throwaway culture that favours mass production and over-consumption.
Outside his innovative role with Atelier, James’s clients internationally and within Australia range from Canal + to Hobart’s iconic Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) where he presented programs for Dark Mofo and curated the “Under The Wire” moving image + sound installations for the Melbourne Festival of the Arts.
With creative flair celebrated both locally and abroad, we are excited to share with you James Hewison’s city guide. This guide discusses the coveted resort town on the French Riviera, famed for its international film festival, Cannes! James’ guide explores Cannes’ iconic cultural institutions, his favourite culinary venues and tips and tricks for navigating this exquisite town.
This city is of course home to Le Festival de Cannes (the Cannes Film Festival), one of the oldest and certainly the most prestigious of film events in the world and serves as the nexus between culture and commerce – it is truly where masterpieces are revealed, reputations are made, careers defined… or crushed! It has of course the reputation of being the playground of the rich and famous, and those seeking it. It has been my destination point therefore since I first left Australia in my late teens being a Francophile and cinephile, and I’ve now developed a deep and personal connection to and affection for this most elusive of Riviera towns.
I first went there as a friend’s father was the architect of the Palais des Festivals (the home of the Festival) and he has an extraordinary house in Biot, a magnificent ancient village in the hills behind Cannes where I’ve stayed a number of times. I’m lucky to have developed close relationships with the Festival team; two of my sons have worked there, I’ve had defining encounters in the cinema and at late night parties on the beach and in 2021 I was a producer of a film that was selected in Official Competition. Alas, I was unable to attend this much-dreamt-of moment due to COVID-19!
I’ve had the good fortune in the last years I’ve attended the Festival to stay in the glorious Villa de Beausejour because of some personal connections as the substantial apartments there are all private. However previously I’d always sought out apartments above the Vieux Port, the old port, away from the raucous Croisette and where you can find artisanal bakers, fromageries and what we’d call delicatessens – and the Marché Forville as the beating heart of any French town is its market.
Cannes is surrounded by some of the more remarkable contemporary art institutions as many seminal artists, most notably Picasso, spent their summers on the Cote d’Azur and there’s a modest Picasso collection in Antibes and Marc Chagall has a museum devoted to his work in nearby Nice. The hillside town of St Paul de Vence is strikingly beautiful and is home to the remarkable Fondation Maeght.
All luxury brands are of course represented in Cannes, populating the Croisette and in the narrow streets behind.
For a town that exults in conspicuous luxury, strangely there are no Michelin-starred restaurants. There are plenty of opportunities to mortgage your house against a seafood platter and champagne at one of the luxury hotels that dot the beachside promenade of the Croisette.
However there are some rough diamonds where you can have fresh local produce and a glass or two of the delicious local wines. Au Pot de Vin is more like a private club, where owner-chef-sommelier Jean-Pierre is a gruff permanent presence, manning the pans of freshly caught fish and recommending wines from his vast cellar next door – or simply choose one off the racks yourself. La Cave Forville presides over the local Marché Forville, a tight selection of local provincial wines and owner Jean-Christophe can open oysters from his native Normandy that have arrived that morning. Next to the salty sea dogs playing pétanque and drinking pastis down on the town square, order a Pan Bagnat from one of the tiny kiosks dotted around, a Salade Niçoise in a freshly baked soft roll – delicious, but careful not to spill the rich olive oil onto your clothes!
Perhaps unsurprisingly given its rich and diverse history and inspired inhabitants, Cannes has a remarkable diversity of architecture, from Pierre Cardin’s strikingly pink Palais Bulles (“Bubble Palace”) to the Grand Hotels and private villas in and around the town.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given its rich and diverse history and inspired inhabitants, Cannes has a remarkable diversity of architecture…
InterContinental Carlton Cannes
As ever with most overrun tourist towns, get off the main grid and make your way to the markets and in particular the Old Port. There are myriad hillside villages – and tiny beach coves with their bars hanging off the rocks – within a tight radius of the town too. And if you want to spend your savings entirely, book into the Hotel du Cap – ensure you have cash with you as they don’t accept credit cards!
Bon séjour à Cannes!
James Hewison has worked for over two decades in film and the allied creative industries in Australia and internationally, from development, acquisitions and distribution to curating, programming and producing. He has accumulated considerable and diverse experience; he was Executive Director of the Melbourne International Film Festival from 2001-2006 then CEO of the Australian Film Institute in 2006, subsequently Distribution Manager for Madman Entertainment and then Head of Film at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI).
James’s clients internationally and in Australia range from Canal+ to Hobart’s iconic Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) where he presented programs for Dark Mofo and curated the “Under The Wire” moving image + sound installations for the Melbourne Festival of the Arts.
In addition to senior executive roles in development, acquisitions, distribution and marketing, he has been a Mentor at the Australia Council and more recently at the Rotterdam International Film Festival. James is the Founder and Creative Director of the Atelier residency, is developing a workshop + moving image program “Mercurial” in Hobart, Tasmania and has produced roles on five feature films including Cannes Film Festival award-winner, “Nitram”.
