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Rosé, Learning about Co-Productions and a Charli XCX DJ Set: Ani Schroeter’s Cannes Producer Network Diary
Movie watching on the beach in Cannes Producer Ani Schroeter (Bunnylovr) attended the 2025 Cannes Film Festival as The Gotham Cannes Producers Network Fellow. Below find her wrap on the festival and her experiences at the Producers Network.
I feel like I’m coming down from my first week as a high school freshman. The Cannes Film Festival was daunting, invigorating and I cannot wait to go back. While at most U.S. festivals, running into film friends on the street is the norm, at Cannes, they are few and far between. At least for a newbie like me. This was my first year at Cannes, and I am still grappling with just how large the festival is. Wandering through the Marché, it really hit me…oh, right, film IS an international business (duh!), but in my small indie world within the U.S., I didn’t quite understand the extent of just how BIG it really is until now.
I didn’t come to Cannes with any preconceived notion of what I was stepping into. Sure I had heard little bits and bops from producer friends who had gone in years past. I knew it was beautiful, glamorous and European, but for the most part I came in fairly naive.
Which, now with a couple days grounded back home in New York, I think was the perfect way to approach the week – ready to soak up any and all experiences thrown my way.
Below is a list (in no specific order!) of what I did at Cannes:
- Went on a yacht, twice
- Saw movies… some I loved, some not my fave
- Learned a lot about the Netherlands at a producer networking brunch
- Used a random name at a party to get in
- Ate a dozen oysters
- Quick espresso meetings with new collaborators and old colleagues
- Jumped into the sea
- Met every agent under the sun at a club called Silencio at 3am
- Almost got pooped on by a seagull
- Learned a lot about co-productions and never (not actually but kinda) want to make a movie in the U.S. again
- Drank enough rosé to last me until next year’s Cannes
- Explored the Old Town and open market
- Lovely dinners with the Gotham team
- Surprise Charli XCX DJ set in a villa
- Bonded with my incredible cohort whom I adore and will remain dear friends with for a very long time
While I do have many takeaways after this long and exhausting week, one of the biggest things I have learned is that community in this industry is critical, especially as a producer. I walk away from this trip feeling like I have just met six incredible producers, that I know I can call with any question at any time.
Cannes, you’re magical, see you again soon!
