Every year, the small coastal town of Cannes transforms itself into much more than just a stage for international film art – it is a lively focal point for global discourse, aesthetic innovations and cultural power relations.

For me, as a lawyer specialising in media law and founder of the RED CLUB, Cannes has once again been an inspiring working trip this year: intense, challenging and full of valuable networking opportunities.

The festival offered the opportunity to take part in numerous exclusive events. These included high-calibre film parties such as the party organised by the renowned London festival platform Raindance (of course we Cannes) as well as the Rainforest Charity Gala in Monaco and numerous other receptions – great places for professional exchange and inspiration.

The fact that I was also able to attend Philipp Plein’s legendarily loud, dazzling party shows that Cannes unites opposites. Here, intellectual dialogue and eccentric staging exist side by side and are part of the same cultural system that promotes encounters and innovation.

In many ways, Cannes resembles an international class reunion: Participants from Los Angeles, Japan, Cape Town, Toronto, Singapore, Beijing, Stockholm and beyond meet, discover new constellations and constantly open up new perspectives.

As every year, a central focus of my work on site was targeted networking. Especially with women, whose creative and entrepreneurial power needs to be even more visible and effective than before. Not just within closed spaces, but in the entire structural fabric of the industry. For me, however, female empowerment never means exclusion, but partnership: the conscious bringing together of women and men who share responsibility and take responsibility together. True change comes about through dialogue and trust, not separation.

This attitude characterises my work, whether in the office, in the RED CLUB or at the festival in Cannes. Because beyond the red carpet, behind the facades of the festival, the really important connections are made: human, creative and sustainable.

All photos courtesy Michaela Mumm von Oldenburg