The 79th edition of the Cannes Film festival at the French Rivera last week was characterised by the absence of major Hollywood names and studio movies. The festival received entries for 2,541 feature films from across the world, including Russia, Spain, France, Germany, Japan and Korea. The films tackle themes as broad as French Nazi resistance, elderly care, displacement, alcoholism, writer’s block, and sanguine meditation on life with humanoid robots.

India had to contend without a significant line-up at the festival except for the restored Malayalam classic Amma Ariyan by John Abraham in the classics section and the short film Shadows of the Moonless Nights by Mehar Malhotra in the competition section. Amma Ariyan is painstakingly restored by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur’s Film Heritage Foundation and had its editor Bina Paul and lead Joy Mathew at its screening.

Brand width

What India lacks in films, it made up for its presence on the red carpet. As many as 10 influencers have either walked the red carpet already or are getting ready for it. This has naturally caused some disproportionate outrage on X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit film critiquing ecosystem, over the fact that deserving artistes from the Indian film industry are being elbowed out by social media influencers.

“In India, the obsession with Cannes is only to walk the red carpet,” festival regular, Indian filmmaker and actor Anurag Kashyap told a social media film reviewer, adding to the debate. “They don’t understand that the purpose of it is beyond the red carpet.”

The outrage over social media influencers on the red-carpet perhaps belies people’s understanding of the red-carpet politics in Cannes and film festivals elsewhere. Red-carpet slots are like prime-time TV slots allotted to brands and media organisations, with freelance photographers. Brands ranging from make-up and skincare giants L’Oréal and Pond’s India (Unilever) to coffee-machine manufacturer Nespresso and jeweller Amama are free to use as they please to increase their exposure.

“It seems to me that there is marked increase in the focus of the business side of things on the red carpet. The influx of influencers from India is perhaps a result of that,” says long-time Cannes visitor and Hindi language movie critic Pragya Mishra. “More catchy social media people equals more eyeballs for brands. It’s simply brand publicity and business, no relation to art or movies.”

Positioning influence

Indian social media influencers on the Cannes red carpet is a recent phenomenon, only three years old, when a cohort of influencers including Dolly Singh, Kusha Kapila and Ranveer Allahbadia descended upon the French Rivera in 2023. Although with so much negative press and social media, brands tightening their purse strings due to economic reasons, it might appear the trend has already peaked.

“The whole ethos behind going to Cannes is because we all love global exposure,” says a Mumbai based veteran publicist, who works with influencers and desired to remain unnamed.“Visibility in film festivals is a major part of any creator’s dream — networking in afterparties and filmmarkets is one way of doing it. Walking the red-carpet is another way of doing it. Cannes has received this reputation of being a Met-gala type event,” the publicist adds.

The roots of Indian influencers on the red carpet could be traced back to digital video publishers Brut India’s (a subsidiary of Brut France) decision to use their red-carpet slots for their own exposure. The company makes snappy, viral videos for the Instagram and boosts its India market through Cannes Film Festival.

They select influencers through intermediaries, who in turn get brands to pay them for the appearance and make content, of which Brut India takes a cut. The influencers are flown down by Brut and the red-carpet experience — from entry ticket to film screening — is made available to them.

Global exposure

Disha Madan, a Bangalore-based social media influencer and actor says she is baffled by the online hate that has ensued after influencers started appearing on the red carpet. “It’s strange because I’ve only been getting love from people here,” she says after her red-carpet appearance for the Out of Competition French film Karma. “I’ve lost count of the number of people who asked to take pictures with me because of what I’m wearing, not because of who I am,” she adds.

For aspiring artists who cut their teeth in social media influencing, positioning themselves as an actor is a constant challenge. Disha says she is hoping her Cannes appearance will help bridge the gap.

But the exposure may be just a thorny issue among filmmakers who view an appearance on the Cannes red-carpet as undeserving. “It’s sad to see how people are misusing the festival just to get some false press coverage back home and some form of validation,” filmmaker and producer Honey Trehan says.

Nevertheless, brands and influencers have spotted an opportunity for global exposure at a film festival that promotes artistic excellence. As long as fans and critics equate a red-carpet appearance with participation in the festival, the conversation is unlikely to die down, and the trend itself might fade but will not disappear.

However, as Honey says, “Cannes isn’t a fashion show. I don’t find this parade of influencers on the red-carpet normal.”