Senior Natalie Justus spent part of her summer in France working at one of the most influential film events in the world – the Cannes International Film Festival.

Justus arrived one day before the festival began on July 5 and spent two weeks working with ticket distribution for The American Pavilion, the hospitality and communications hub for the thousands of Americans attending the Cannes Film Festival. In her role, she managed tickets at the Pavilion for industry insiders, student programs, and raffles for the most sought-after premieres.

“I have always wanted to attend the Cannes Film Festival,” Justus says. “I was already planning on studying abroad in France during spring 2020, so applying was an easy decision.”

Before the 2020 event was canceled during the pandemic, Justus had already applied to be a part of The American Pavilion’s student program, an opportunity she learned about from Assistant Professor of Media and Film Studies Robert Corna. Her position was then honored for the next three years, and she made her way to Cannes this summer, despite knowing it would be so different from years past.

“My favorite part of the experience – aside from walking the red carpet in black tie attire – was meeting all the different film industry professionals and hearing about what they do and how they got there,” Justus says. “The highlight was when Haley Lu Richardson came to the Pavilion to talk about her newest film at the festival and her career as an actress.”

Richardson starred in “After Yang,” which was shown on July 8 among the other world premieres that make the Cannes Film Festival the largest film festival in the world. Over the two-week festival, screenings took place across multiple theatres, plus two Red Carpet Premieres at the Grand Theatre Lumiere every night.

Justus had the opportunity to attend the premiere of “Stillwater,” starring Matt Damon, and it was one of her favorite films she saw during her time in Cannes. She also attended the Q&A following the next day and heard Damon speak about the film.

“I got to see Matt Damon’s reaction to the film’s standing ovation – definitely a memory I will never forget,” Justus says.

Along with the magic behind the festival and the red-carpet experience, Justus brought back knowledge that she will carry into her major in media and film studies and her future career goals. Through her program with The American Pavilion, she got to hear from actors and producers, publicists, entertainment lawyers, and other experts in the industry. Justus also got to work alongside other students with similar goals.

“I got a much closer look inside what my future career may look like and made multiple connections that I will be able to reach out to after graduation,” she says. “I am still unsure which route I will choose, but It is nice to hear that there are so many different possibilities and career paths within the film industry.”