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Morning rituals start taking on a familiar pattern and so I usually begin each day getting to the Marche du Film at opening, grab a café au lait and the Festival Daily to see what parties I was not privvy to the evening before and read the buzz on what films are breaking out from the pack. I listen to (eavesdropping while recounting my previous day's events) what others are talking up for the day and all I hear is Scorsese, Scorsese, Scorsese. It would've been great to get in but the queue was a two-hour wait and from what I heard it was almost impossible to get admittance. Nevertheless, I'm sure it was worth the wait for the many who did manage to get in.

The other big deal was the premiere screening of OCEAN'S THIRTEEN with a big production press conference. I concentrated on getting into some films in theaters surrounding the Palais that despite having long queues, they moved and filled up rather quickly allowing me an opportunity to see some films outside of the main pack. Here are some films most talked about - NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (Joel and Ethan Coen), THE DIVING BELL & THE BUTTERFLY (Julian Schnabel,) PARANOID PARK (Gus Van Sant), THE EDGE OF HEAVEN (Fatih Akin - this one is getting a lot of attention), DEATH PROOF (Quentin Tarantino, ZODIAC (David Fincher) PERSEPOLIS (Parannoud & Satrapi) SILENT LIGHT (Carlos Reygadas), BREATH (Kim Ki-Duk) and 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, AND 2 DAYS (Cristian Mungiu). Not to say these are the only films talked about but to get another POV, a great place to catch some film reviews out of Cannes is at GreenCine Daily

While on one hand the Festival shows signs of winding down with less of a frenetic pace at the Marche du Film, the deals are still being negotiated as covered in the daily publications. On the secondary level afternoon screenings, receptions, meetings, cocktail hours continue throughout the international village and in tents along the marina. Here are opportunities for filmmakers to get out of their shell-shocked, glazed look by the late afternoon and stay on course with their goals. While I met a lot of filmmakers here in Cannes for the first time, they are pooping out by this time of the Festival and need to regroup. I know the feeling. With a lot of people heading out of town, more tickets (called invitations) are becoming available and I'm planning out the final few days here to make it the most productive time possible.