Report: Networking & Acting Workshop at the Cannes Film Festival 2026 - Part 1

It’s already been about a month since we returned home from yet another fantastic networking and acting workshop centered around the Cannes Film Festival! As always, there was an incredible amount to see and do, and it definitely took some adjusting for those who had never attended before.

Just arrived and already picked up our professional badges!

The Cannes Film Festival is, and remains, the most iconic film festival, the largest film market, and the most important networking event for film professionals in the world. Every day offers dozens of receptions, panel discussions, Q&A sessions, information sessions, film screenings, networking events, and parties to attend. And if you have been there before, it is also a wonderful annual reunion with friends and colleagues.

At the same time, the festival can be quite an adjustment for those who are used to a great deal of structure, as the full event schedule is usually only released a day or two before the festival begins. Due to the presence of so many celebrities, some events are suddenly altered or relocated, and not every organizer manages to run their planned activities flawlessly. For us, however, that is all part of the festival’s charm, and once again, from beginning to end, it was an absolute pleasure to be there.

Anyone organizing a networking workshop during the Cannes Film Festival needs to be flexible. It starts with the accreditation process: for the past few years, the organizers have been stricter than ever, and most applications are simply rejected, even if your name is Maxim Jago, you have attended the festival for more than ten years, organize one of the most sought-after parties of the festival (the Pajama Party), have directed and produced films, and regularly host panel discussions.

Fortunately, we have never encountered any major issues with Badass PR and Badass Intensive Acting Studios by Hollywood Actors Studios, and now that we also have our own booth in the Marché du Film, the entire accreditation process has become much smoother. It is one of the advantages of having our own production company through Anchorage Entertainment, as well as the fact that almost all of our students are able to take on multiple roles and responsibilities during the festival!

Our first students and colleagues have arrived! Time for a photo next to the Palais des Festivals!

This also allowed us to help out our colleagues at CinAct, who had been unable to secure accreditations for their students. Through us, however, they were still able to obtain three-day passes, giving us a great opportunity to get to know some of their newest students along the way.

This year required considerably more logistical juggling than usual. Unfortunately, both Yunus and Helena were only able to attend for five days instead of the full ten, while Seger joined us two days after the rest of the group, accompanied by both his father and his dog. As a result, we had to do quite a bit of reshuffling when it came to accommodation arrangements.

At the Thai Pavilion with casting director Brigitte De Witte, owner of LifeBytes Magazine Paula van Unen, and top camera operator Emile Van Doorne of DOORN Media fame

This year, we also invited a special guest to join us: none other than the incredibly warm and charismatic Brigitte De Witte, the driving force behind casting agency XtraZ for many years. The agency specializes not only in background acting roles but also in featured extra roles, often for major international productions. Brigitte joined us for five days and, during her stay, conducted a two-part workshop for our students, covering casting processes, auditions, and providing valuable insights into how the film industry operates behind the scenes.

At our traditional first-night dinner with our students and colleagues

This year brought an additional challenge, as a nationwide airport strike was scheduled for our planned departure date on May 12. At first, we managed to adapt by replacing our flight from Brussels to Nice with a flight from Charleroi to Marseille. However, after Brussels Airport announced that more than 60% of its flights would be cancelled, Charleroi Airport followed suit and cancelled all departing flights as well.

Building our booth and promoting our Syncanite Foundation film project

As we have come to expect from our amazing students and staff, everyone remained highly motivated, and we are well accustomed to adapting quickly – something that is absolutely essential in the film industry. Within an hour, we had already secured alternative flights and arranged for everyone to travel to France a day earlier than originally planned. This unexpected change even gave us the opportunity to show everyone around the city and introduce them to the festival atmosphere a full day before the festival officially began, and two days before most of the national pavilions started hosting their first receptions and events.

Honestly, we can hardly imagine attending the festival anymore without official badges that provide access to the entire event for two weeks, including the dozens of pavilions operated by different countries and regions, the Marché du Film itself, and the countless networking opportunities and events taking place throughout the festival. Being able to place one of those badges around the neck of each of our students every year (with Helena and Yunus receiving three-day passes due to their shorter stay) remains a truly special moment – one that we eagerly look forward to every single year.

One of our favorite pavilions – and certainly one we feel particularly connected to – is the Fantastic Pavilion, which brings together 33 of the world's leading horror, science fiction, thriller, and fantasy film festivals. The pavilion also helps numerous production companies promote, sell, and showcase their films to distributors, festival programmers, and industry professionals.

Here, we attended their first screening of the festival. Unlike the official festival screenings held at the Palais des Festivals, this one took place at the Cinéma Olympia, one of Cannes’ well-known cinemas that hosts a variety of festival and market screenings throughout the event.

Some events had already been announced a month in advance, but now that the festival was finally about to begin, we had – just as in previous years – only just received the complete event calendar, including the listing for our own PR reception. Naturally, we want our group to experience as many red carpets, film screenings, parties, receptions, and other activities as possible. We therefore allow everyone to choose the events they are most interested in attending before distributing the opportunities as fairly as possible.

There are no hidden costs involved, apart from the occasional meal or drink outside the receptions and parties. Those who know how to make the most of the festival try to attend as many cocktails, mixers, happy hours, and networking nights as possible. These are perfect opportunities to meet new people, learn more about the film industry, build valuable professional connections, enjoy some food and drinks, and, of course, simply have a great time.

Our first red carpet screening with cast & crew: L'Abandon

The fact that nearly everyone gets the opportunity to stay aboard a yacht from the third day of the festival onwards—an incredibly comfortable and enjoyable place to relax—certainly tempts some people to linger on deck a little longer before heading back into the hustle and bustle of the festival. For us, that flexibility is extremely important, as is our availability to guide, support, and advise everyone throughout the experience.

Of course, there is so much more to tell about the Cannes Film Festival and everything we experienced there, so rest assured that we will be revisiting many of these stories in future blog posts!

Anyone interested in one of the few television and film acting programs available in the Benelux, and/or in the workshops, showcases, and showreel productions we organize through Badass Intensive Acting Studios, Badass PR, and Anchorage Entertainment, is naturally welcome to contact us at:

dirk@badasspr.com

or through WhatsApp at +32 494 38 27 44