Cannes - Derek Ridgers

Cannes - Derek Ridgers

The new IDEA book is CANNES by Derek Ridgers. The famed British press and street photographer travelled to the film festival on various assignments over 12 years between 1984 and 1996. His photographs are remarkable. They are not the usual film studio sponsored paparazzi portraits, rather they present an unfiltered photo-documentary of the other photographers and their subjects, both celebrity and salubrious. Derek explains it well in his short text for the book:

“The first time I went to Cannes on assignment for the British music magazine NME, I went to shoot Afrika Bambaataa and to attend the showing of the hip-hop film Beat Street, which was in competition at the Palais.

Wandering up and down the Croisette, through all the crowds of fervent film fans, I noticed huddles of photographers forming on the beach. One always heard about how Brigitte Bardot was supposedly discovered posing on the beach during the Film Festival. I also knew it had become somewhat de rigueur for young actresses who wanted to follow in her footsteps. But it all seemed quite nuts. Hundreds of mostly amateur photographers roaming around trying to get young women to pose for them. Sometimes the objects of their attentions were starlets there for the Hot D’Or adult film awards (which took place at the same time), but more often they were just young women sunbathing on the beach.

The whole event seemed like one big crazy circus. But a big crazy circus that drew me in and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find the whole thing hugely photogenic.”

Derek’s photographs are often pictures of other people taking pictures.  And he did also take some terrifically candid photographs where there was nothing between him and his subject other than his own camera.

The result is about as much fun as you can have with a book. A truly fabulous and frivolous record of the Cannes Film Festival as it was then and as it will always be remembered by anyone of certain age who read the UK papers and watched the nightly news and dreamed of fun in the sun and croissants on the Croisette. Derek’s photographs of the photogenic!

• Softcover with gatefolds + obi band
• 25.5 x 20 cm
• 96 pages
• Edition of 500

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IDEA is a London based bookstore and publisher.  IDEA will publish CANNES for Photo London in May in an edition of 500 copies. The book will launch at Dover Street Market on May 15th as part of the store’s Photo London week.