Cannes Lions 2024 Recap: Anna and Kat
Anna Forsyth (left) and Kat Van Berkel (right), designers at CHEP Network in Sydney competed in the Design category of the Cannes Young Lions competition. Here, the pair recap their experience in Cannes.
Day 1 & 2
Greeted by a blissful sunny day and crystal blue waters, we finally made it to Cannes! We started our day by heading to the Young Lions inspiration session where we heard P.G. Aditiya talk about ‘thinking about your plot’, and Heather Freelance on ‘creativity as a team sport’. Then of course we had to check out all the activations along the pink promenade with a frosé popsicle in hand.
A highlight of our day was hearing Deepak Chopra talk about creativity as a source of thought. He talked to creatives surrendering to uncertainty which was very inspiring for us as we were hours away from taking on the feat of a 24 hour brief.
We finished the day by getting stuck into our design brief with lots of snacks and coffee. The next day flew by, and before we knew it, the 24 hours were done… it was a bit of a blur!
Day 3
Presentation day…. Finally! Alongside the other design teams we presented our Young Lions global 24hr submission.
To celebrate we had a short nap in the sun and checked out the Pinterest activation… we even considered getting a tattoo there. Walking back we then joined the endless queue to see Elon Musk talk about all things AI. It was well worth the wait!
Day 4
The next day, we were lucky enough to catch a talk on the creation and inspiration behind the set design of ‘Poor Things’ with Shona Heath and James Price. We loved their simple advice of questioning “Why not?” when people interrogate your design concepts.
We then finished the day watching the amazing drone show from the FINCH yacht, sipping on Rosé and Aperol… what a way to celebrate.
Day 5
Our final day! A bittersweet one after a week of hard work but in France… with Rosé. We soaked up the sun with a dip in the ocean. Afterwards we sat in awe surrounded by such talented Young Lions winners waiting for the announcements. The film category was a standout for us.
We wrapped up the day by attending the Awards night which really encompassed the excitement and creativity of the whole week. We loved all the work but were especially inspired by Maria Ressa winning the Lionheart award, and the design Grand Prix winner ‘Sightwalks’.
Now back to Sydney!