With the Cannes Film Festival just a couple of months away, there is a exciting buzz beginning to escalate as the film industry impatiently awaits the world’s biggest and most glamorous film event.

The announcement that the highly acclaimed Italian film director, Nanni Moretti, has been named as jury president for this year’s Cannes Film Festival has added fuel into the frenzy of anticipation about the forthcoming festival.

The 58-year-old film director, producer, screenwriter and actor has a long and successful history with the Cannes Film Festival. In 1994 he won the award for best director for his film ‘Dear Diary’. In 1997, the film director served as a jury member and four years later in 2001, Moretti won the festival’s most prestigious prize, the Palme D’Or award, for his film ‘The Son’s Room’.

Last year the President of the Jury was given to the American actor Robert De Niro. In a statement about the announcement published on Bloomberg that Moretti has been honoured with the Cannes Film Festival’s prime role as jury president, the Italian film icon spoke of his elation about being given the responsibility:

“This is a real joy, an honour and a responsibility. As a spectator, fortunately I still have the same curiosity that I had in my youth and so it is a great privilege for me to embark on this voyage into the world of contemporary international film.”

Since it was founded in 1946 the Cannes International Film Festival quickly became one of the world’s most prestigious and publicised film festivals in the world.

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The French language is undeniably romantic and is generally considered to be one of the most beautiful languages in the world.

They say there’s no place to pick up as language more quickly than learning it in its native surroundings.

Given the ‘logic’ that learning another language will be made significantly easier if you immerse yourself among people who speak the language as their native tongue, where could be a better place to learn French then in the sunny, seductive and sensational city of Nice.

One of the most famed and sought-after language schools on the Cote d’Azur is ESL Language School, which, each year, attracts more than 2,500 students through its doors of approximately 40 different nationalities.

With a policy of only employing native French speaking teachers and upholding a teaching mythology that is based on applying real-life scenarios in a motivating and encouraging atmosphere, ESL reputed for its students gaining results quickly.

The school offers various courses to cater for each level of ability from beginner to advanced, including a standard course, intensive course, combined course, business course, DEFL course and one-to-one classes.

The duration of each course varies from 2 weeks to 48 weeks, and has a maximum of 8 – 12 students attending the classes, depending on which course it is.

Each student receives a certificate from the school once they have completed the course, which specifies what level of French they have acquired.

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Photographers can travel the world but they will find it hard to match the unique and unrivalled beauty of the Cote d’Azur to showcase their talents.

With so many inspiring landmarks, eccentric and unusual discoveries and stunning natural beauty, swathed by an azure sky and sea, achieving inimitable and motivating photographs on this stretch of French coastline is attainable for even the most amateur of photographers.

In celebration of the Cote d’Azur’s perpetual capacity to enthuse photographers, the Chateau St Julien d’Aille is holding a photography workshop.

Named the ‘Scrapbook Event’, the workshop will enable photographers of all abilities to speak to and gain advice from professionals to help them make photographic scrapbooks with their own photos.

Alongside attending talks dedicated to helping photographers mount and display their work in a professional scrapbook, the event will include several wine tasting sessions, allowing photographers to sample the delicious local wine that is produced in the Cote d’Azur region.

Situated close to Vidauban on the Cote d’Azur, is the grand and impressive Chateau St Julien d’Aille, which, for centuries, has been tended by people whose passion in winemaking has been proven by the quality of the wine produced here.

In combining both modern and ancient winemaking techniques, the experience visitors to this stately chateau discover delves much deeper than simply tasting some of the most divine wine that France has to offer.

Being blessed with 80 hectares of vines surrounded by a swarm beautiful natural resources including holly oaks, pine trees, heather, thyme, junipers and pine trees, it isn’t difficult to envisage why the photography professionals that will be gracing the Chateau St Julien d’Aille with their presence decided to hold the Scrapbook Event at this truly inspirational venue.

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When visiting a new country, the best way to ensure that you have the most luxurious stay is to book yourself into a 5 star resort. However, you can now experience an even more exclusive getaway by renting your own village!

Rentavillage.com is now offering its wealthy clientele the opportunity to rent an entire town for around $60,000 a night. The whole village would be at your disposal, ready for you to spend your stay however you please.

You could rename the streets and squares, have your name or company logo carved into the snow on a mountain slope, or even change the currency for the duration of your visit.

The inhabitants of your chosen location earn a living from the village and local businesses and clubs also contribute to any events you organise on your trip, offering their expertise in areas such as catering and indoor/outdoor activities.

Karl Schwärzler of Xnet (the company that runs the rentavillage website) reports that this concept has become a firm favourite with large global organisations who want to go all out to impress their clients.

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Southern France was once again been invaded by citrus fruits, as Menton celebrated its traditional lemon festival earlier this month.

The 79^th addition of the festival was not only a celebration of lemons, but also a celebration of France as the theme was ‘regions of France’.

The patriotic theme was demonstrated through the traditional sculptures, made up of around 145 ton of lemons and oranges. This year’s citrus fruit creations included a bottle of champagne, a stork and a Parisian Metro station sign.

La fete du Citron (as it is known in France) originated in 1929 when Menton became Europe’s premier producer of lemons. The local Hotel Riviera launched the festival to celebrate the first flowering of the citrus fruits.

The celebration also includes wagons that parade through the streets with a variety of entertainment. It is well known for being a unique event and attracts around 230,000 visitors a year.

2012’s festival is running  from 17^th February – 7^th March, and highlights included the “Corso des fruits d’or” – The golden fruits parade that runs along the Promenade du Soleil with floats decorated in lemons and oranges, as well as moving figures.

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