CANNES, France — The French Riviera is one of the most photogenic places on the planet. At the Cannes Film Festival, the already gorgeous art deco architecture and placid beaches were dotted with celebrities and common folk alike, dressed to the nines to attend the ritzy premieres. I expected to see a yachtload of influencers. Why couldn't I find any? I went on the hunt: My first stop after landing in Nice was Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, a luxury oceanfront hotel, in nearby Cap d'Antibes, where Sofia Richie had her wedding. I had lunch — a €105 buffet — with the most Instagrammable view imaginable, overlooking a pool packed with bright-white umbrellas that overlooked the expansive blue bay. I didn't see a single influencer, though. Just a lot of rich people. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Vogue Weddings (@vogueweddings) "Are you going down to the festival today?" one wealthy businessman, the kind who says he "dabbles in this and that" like Walton Goggins' character inThe White Lotus,said to his friend, who was just in from Dubai. "Why would you leave this place?" the friend replied. Their much younger companions debated if they wanted white wine or red, and whether they'd recommend staying in Monaco for three days or five. One of the women, who wore her hair in a tight bun and sported pink high heels, explained that her partner had a tough week because he "had to fire a bunch of people." These were just run-of-the-mill rich people I was overhearing, not influencers. Full of canapés and salted fish, I walked to thehotel's legendary walkway,where an iconic photo of Harrison Ford was taken in 1982. There wasn't a single fancy person in sight — just me. Days later, A-listers and Cannes stars Pedro Pascal and Paul Mescal would parody Ford's photo. Even in the most Instagram-friendly spaces, celebrities clearly outnumbered over influencers. View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Sundance Institute (@sundanceorg) Over the next few days, I went to noted influencer hot spots looking to find the social media savvy at places I surely thought they'd turn up: snapping selfies in glamorous hotels, showing off their outfits on idyllic beaches and scrolling through their timelines in exclusive restaurants. Expensive people were all around me, but none were eager to post. Dozens of fans lined up with cameras and pens outside the Marriott where I conducted interviews forThe Phoenician Scheme, but they weren't there to spot social media stars. They wanted to see a celebrity. Any celebrity would do. Though I was surprised to find myself in influencer-free territory, the French film festival is apparently one of the last places where social media-first behavior is frowned upon. I couldn't even get a selfie on the red-carpeted steps to a premiere that I had a hard-fought ticket to attend without getting my phone swatted out of my hand by a security guard. They flanked every other step of the theater on both sides. That's by design. Sarah Schmidt,a celebrity and influencer brand expert, told Yahoo Entertainment that "Cannes is one of the last major cultural events that hasn't gone fully digital-first." "That's what makes it iconic — but it's also what makes it incompatible with how most creators operate. There's no general admission, no creator integration and no built-in audience crossover. It runs on scarcity and tradition," she explained. "And that's exactly why the [return on investment] for influencers is so low. You can spend ten grand to get there and still walk away with a few pretty photos and a tired caption about 'feeling honored.'" Schmidt said that influencers are "accessories, not insiders." If they're there, they've been invited by a luxury brand or a social media company. "Cannes celebrates art-house cinema, global auteurs, and prestige storytelling. The event isn't built to drive viral content," she said. "The red carpet is stunning, yes, but the substance doesn't connect." Cannes, as it turns out, is a "cinematic sanctuary — a place intentionally out of sync with the algorithm-chasing energy of the creator economy," Megan Balyk, vice president of Jive PR & Digital, told Yahoo Entertainment. "It's not that influencers aren't cool enough for Cannes — it's that Cannes, with its velvet ropes and elite profile, remains deeply rooted in the talent and artistry of film," she said. "It's not built for [influencers], and honestly, that's the beauty of it. In a world where every event is trying to be everything to everyone, there's something quietly radical about a festival that knows exactly who it is and who it's for. It's not exclusion; it's intentionality." In my quest to find influencers on the ground, I heard that TikTok had brought a few of its creators to the Croisette. The social media app wasone of the festival's official partners, so creators got great access — some spoke to Denzel Washington on the red carpet, and some met Tom Cruise. "The creators they're spotlighting are film-obsessed, not just content-obsessed — a subtle but important distinction," Balyk said. I was kindly invited inside TikTok's creator lounge, where I saw plenty of familiar faces from FilmTok, a community of movie lovers on the platform, chitchatting with each other in an airy, luxurious space with a bar. I spoke withZainab Jiwa, who said her goal was to make her audience, a cool 590,000 followers on TikTok, feel like they were at the festival with her. She wants to make the prestigious festival seem more accessible. "It's crazy, isn't it? It hits me every few minutes that I'm here, because we all know Cannes is a film festival — high-caliber stuff. It's a big deal," she said. "You need certain things to be here. But you're also surrounded by so many creative people in the industry and you're inspired by everyone you meet. You talk to people, then you're like, 'I need to make something! Now!'" Jiwa's energy was infectious. She was thrilled to be on the Croisette — she was particularly excited about seeing early screenings and catching talks with directors on the beach — but even more thrilled to share with her audience how they could follow in her footsteps "Be passionate and say yes to everything," she advised. "If you're not passionate, what's the point?" When I met Jiwa and her fellow creators at the lounge, they were all getting ready to go to ascreening ofWait, Your Car?, a short film written and directed by TikTok creator Reece Feldman, also known as@GuyWithAMovieCamera.He made a name for himself sharing his experience working as a production assistant in the entertainment industry, and now he's using his platform to make movies of his own. "As a movie lover, [being at Cannes] is like a dream. You're just surrounded by people that like movies, and everyone has opinions, and it's nice getting to speak this universal language with everyone regardless of their actual language," Feldman told Yahoo Entertainment. "It doesn't hurt that it's the prettiest place on the planet." He said it was a massive honor to have his short screened on the Croisette — and people "laughed where I wanted them to laugh." "The theater wasn't big enough to house everyone, which is upsetting to me, but also just in a roundabout way, like if I'm looking at a glass half full, that I'm like, wow, what a privilege that people want to watch something that I've made — the first thing I've made," Feldman said. Feldman has mingled with celebrities on the red carpet at the Oscars and the Met Gala. When he goes to these exclusive places, he's always thinking, "What's a cool, fun thing I can show from this perspective?" As a testament to the way he's always thinking about his audience, he asked if I wanted a movie recommendation when I told him I was feeling sick. He recommended two films from his favorite French filmmaker, Eric Rohmer —The Green RayandA Summer's Tale— andMr. Bean's Holiday, which is largely set in Cannes. While tastemakers in their own right, creators known for their film recommendations and access to industry events are different from what people might think of when the word "influencer" is uttered aloud. Rebecca Whitlocke, a PR specialist based on the French Riviera, told Yahoo Entertainment that "audiences that follow cinephile influencers are there for reviews and inside tips about production and the film industry in general; they are not as obsessed with the influencer being 'famous' or 'known.'" Evan Wray, who leads strategy at influencer marketing company Later, told Yahoo Entertainment that influencers typically aren't a part of the "celebrity and cinephile … world unless they're crossing into film or entertainment journalism." "The real issue is ROI. What's the content opportunity? A red carpet photo? That's not driving engagement or sales," Wray explained. "For creators, time is currency. If it doesn't lead to more growth or better brand deals, it's just a flex." Influencers yearning to post from the gorgeous beaches of the French Riviera need only wait a few weeks before it's their time to shine. Cannes Lions, an annual creativity festival, takes place in the same theaters and stages in mid-June, but it spotlights the creator economy rather than the entertainment industry. "At Lions, creators are the stars. At the film festival, they're in the nosebleeds," Wray said. Since the two Cannes experiences are so starkly divided, celebrities at the film festival are free from clout-chasers to bask in their fame, shaking hands with influencers who adore their craft. Cannes Film Festival might be one of the last truly safe places for celebrities to separate themselves from content creators, safe in their silos of traditional stardom. That is, for now.
