The glamour of the Cannes Film Festival is usually seen through the lenses of photographers. A new documentary now turns the camera around. A Photographer in Cannes, which world premieres in the Special Screenings program of the 30th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) in Estonia, offers a backstage look at the life and not always glamorous work of a red carpet photographer.
The man in the spotlight is Erlend Štaub, Estonia's fixture on film festival carpets, both red, as at Cannes and Berlin, and black, in the case of PÖFF, where he has served as the official photographer for several years. The film comes from director and cinematographer Kullar Vilmne, who co-wrote it with editor Erik Norkroos.
The documentary follows Štaub through days spent at exclusive parties, wild concerts and other events in Estonia, and nights spent editing photos for delivery by the next morning. It also explores the physical fitness, mental toughness and social skills required to thrive in the world of glitz and glam, and travels to Cannes, which the veteran has attended for 15 years in a row. There he is shown in his element on the red carpet and behind the scenes, including a run-in with Bella Hadid.
Štaub told The Hollywood Reporter he initially resisted the project. When Vilmne texted him at six in the morning, he wrote back that it was not a good idea. After hearing the director out, he changed his mind. "I realized that the things that I'm doing are unbelievable to others," he said. "Okay, no problem. Do what you do, and I can help if you need help."
Getting a film crew into Cannes required cooperation from the festival itself. Štaub praised the event warmly, noting that Estonia is a very small country yet he is allowed to shoot on the red carpet alongside top American and French photographers. While his own accreditation covers roughly 13 days, filmmakers need new red carpet accreditation every day, and he said festival staff helped position cameras behind and in front of him. "They are great guys and really helped the team and me," he said.
Fitness, he stressed, is essential. "This is stressful work, so your physical shape needs to be strong, like a military person," he said, adding that he is grateful for his little gym room at home. His advice to aspiring photographers is simple: be yourself. He recalled a man he photographed at the Berlinale seven or eight years ago who later recognized him at PÖFF. "Every person who comes to my camera remembers me. And for me, that's very important."
Among the stars he finds easy to photograph, he named Bill Murray, Omar Sy, Harrison Ford, Penelope Cruz and Will Smith, saying they genuinely love the audience and their fans. But one encounter at Cannes this year stood out. "Vin Diesel! Oh my God, I had been waiting for this moment for a long time," Štaub said, describing how the actor greeted him at a photocall with a fist bump. "My God, this is the best day of my life." He recalled Diesel telling the press corps, "I'm here because of all of you. You journalists and photographers made me a real actor."
His wish list of future subjects includes Samuel Jackson, Keanu Reeves, Anthony Hopkins, Charlie Hunnam, Ron Perlman and Danny Trejo. "Yes, I love the badass," he admitted, calling Sylvester Stallone, whom he has photographed a couple of times, his favorite actor.
As for working his home festival, Štaub said PÖFF brings only a little pressure, mainly because so many people want a photo that there is a long line, and he hates the sad faces when the black carpet must close. His ideal condition is working with each person one by one, and his number one rule is capturing subjects looking straight into his camera. "That feels like I, the person [looking at the picture], and the celebrity are the only people in the room," he said. "There is a real connection."
