Cannes Film Festival: Raucous Past in Derek Ridgers’ Photos

Photographer Derek Ridgers’ introduction to the Cannes Film Festival came in 1984, when he was commissioned to shoot DJ and rapper Afrika Bambaataa for the music magazine NME. Over the next 11 years, Ridgers would return to the French resort town, capturing the compelling and sometimes controversial scenes that unfolded around him. His photos, now compiled in a new book titled “Cannes,” published by IDEA, showcase a different era of the festival, one without cell phones and dominated by TV and printed media.

Ridgers’ interest in people and the human condition drove his photography. “My interest has always been people and, I suppose, a study of the human condition,” he said. “The film festival was my first extended foray into reportage, but it’s still all people doing what people do.” He focused on the beachside scenes, celebrities, models, and fellow photographers, rather than the films themselves. In fact, Ridgers only saw two films during his time at Cannes: “Beat Street” and “December Bride.”

A Different Time

The photos in “Cannes” depict a festival that was more about life’s rich pageant than the red carpet. Ridgers captured icons like Clint Eastwood, Helmut Newton, and John Waters, as well as up-and-coming models like Frankie Rayder. His images also show the paparazzi’s carnal appetite and the sometimes-questionable behavior of those in attendance. “There’s so much of life’s rich pageant on show during Cannes, there are great photographic opportunities almost everywhere,” Ridgers said.

The book includes images of young women, adult entertainers, and wannabe film stars, all posing, showing off, and emulating the likes of Brigitte Bardot. Ridgers’ gaze is that of a bystander, recording the playful, outrageous, and sometimes shocking moments. “I’m serious about my work, but this is not a particularly serious photobook,” he said. “Most of the photographs are frivolous, and some are simply outrageous.”

A Testament to a Bygone Era

Ridgers’ photos are a testament to the fun, crazy, and ludicrous things that happened at Cannes in the 1980s and 1990s. With the French law of droit à l’image making it harder to publish photos of people in public without permission, Ridgers’ book is a reminder of a different time. “These days, because of the French law… it’s harder to publish photographs of people in public without their permission — how that works in the era of the camera phone, I have no idea,” he said. “My photographs are testament to what fun, crazy and at times, ludicrous, things happened back then.”