They appear in the early hours of the day, when the sun is already beating down but not yet blazing. In total, there are more than a hundred of them. Some come from far away, others from towns on the French Riviera, splendid in mid-May. Some are young film buffs, others are veteran women who have been selling films at the world's most important film festival for over a quarter of a century each year. But they all have at least two things in common: a passion for cinema and folding ladders.

This year's Cannes Film Festival will be remembered, at least in terms of fashion, for the organizers' explicit ban on stars showing more than necessary on the red carpet. In practice, the new rules meant that "for reasons of decency," attendees could not appear in outfits that revealed body parts like nipples, or in designs that were too voluminous, or with long trains that impeded proper circulation on the red carpet. The rules had their impact, and this year's Cannes red carpet was more modest and discreet than ever, with a few notable and striking exceptions.