Colin Cabalka and I

It’s just the way some things work out! A little background may be necessary for this hefty tale though. After a Saturday afternoon trip to Newport Beach, CA on a surprisingly warm day this past April, I was bombarded with the idea that I go to The International Cannes Film Festival 2011 by my good friend Colin Cabalka. He attends every year and thought it was the greatest idea that I just tag along! Putting aside the fact that it was almost the end of the semester my junior year in college while working almost full-time at CaseCrown, I entertained the idea!

Sipping coffee in a French Bistro, eating baguettes and cheese, laying on the white-sand beaches with the Mediterranean Sea in the background, partying with famous movie stars, train rides to Paris, and going on yachts…it all sounded like a dream vacation! Exactly what a college student should be doing, right? Wrong! There was no way I could go, balance my life, and justify a Euro trip at such a busy time! But, like I said, “It’s just the way some things work out!”

When I brought up the mid-semester venture across the Atlantic while visiting my parents for dinner one weekend, my mom was ecstatic at the thought and immediately agreed to buy the airplane ticket. I was shocked to say the least! Next came school…how do you tell college professors you’re leaving three weeks before finals? I don’t know how, but somehow they were all supportive. Lastly, work.  How could I tell our team at CaseCrown that I was leavin’ on a jet plane for three weeks! But again, they were more than supportive and we quickly got together some plans to market CaseCrown internationally!

Fast forward to May 6, 2011! I walk out of the Delta flight in France with my iPad 2, iPhone 4, and Canon 7D in hand (all with CASECROWN CASES on them!). After 14 hours on a plane, I must say it was exactly what I had imagined! Yachts, exotic cars, shopping, movie stars, and red carpets! Well, it wasn’t that glamorous yet because it was still three days before the festival started. But after that much time on a plane, everything looks amazing!

The Palais at Festival de Cannes 2011

Now that you have the background, on to the important stuff! After the first few days in Cannes working with the friends that invited me, meeting Film industry people, and pretty much just being awesome… I got an offer! For what you may ask? To represent CASECROWN at the 64th Annual International Festival de Cannes and Marche du Film! What an amazing opportunity! I took some of our iPhone 4 Chameleon and Glider cases with me, and apparently they were a huge hit!

Walking the Red Carpet

Over the course of the next two weeks, I saw about 28 movies (Yes, about 2 movies a day), watched a screening with Jude Law, walked the red carpet, partied with Kanye West and Lady Gaga, met Robert De Niro and a slew of other stars, and pretty much just represented one of the best case companies around – CASECROWN! I was able to give out about 30 iPhone 4 cases to prominent Film industry people and even got them into a swag bag or two!

Just another evening with Mr. De Niro...No Big Deal

Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris Premier"

Hey Brad Pitt!

Either way it was a trip of a lifetime and I got to do it with my iPad 2 Bold Standby case and iPhone 4 Slash Glider case by my side! I even brought my MacBook Pro laptop messenger bag along to carry it all while trekking around the Palais (the downtown area where the Festival is held) during festival time.

The paparazzi never back down

Reading this you’re probably thinking, “Well, that’s cool… but what does it mean for me?” Well, going to France I discovered that beyond our most popular products for your iPhone or iPad, we at CaseCrown have the cases you need for doing the “tuff stuff”! Working with the film industry people in France, I found out that they LOVED our DSLR and Film camera bags! I took my Rugged Travel Sling Back DSLR Backpack with me and I must say it’s a necessity if you’re thinking of traveling or taking your camera into those hard to reach places. So whether you’re making a movie, doing a photo-shoot, or just taking pictures of the kids, grab one of these bags and protect your “tools”!

To see more pictures from Cannes, France you can see my Facebook and follow me on Twitter!