Recently, I went to Cannes festival. Not that Cannes festival, the other one. Cannes Lions, the advertising festival held one month after the stars of Hollywood have long fled back to their pads in the hills of Los Angeles.

Before now, I’d heard stories passed down about out-of-hand yacht parties and endless days with no sleep – hardly a normal work function.

However, in my experience, the nighttime events were well balanced with relaxed beach networking and manageable daytime soirées. Again, completely absurd work obligations. Often, myself and any other ‘Cannes virgins’ would pinch ourselves as we sat by the pool at 3pm on a Thursday.

But beneath the ridiculousness of it all is a shared love of making film and print advertisements. I was lucky enough to enter the Straight 8 Shootout film competition, which led to a screening of my film at Cinéma Les Arcades. Completely unforgettable moment. It’s really encouraging to see companies uplifting young creators; I urge everyone to look at the Straight 8 website!

For whatever reason that you may be invited to Cannes, it certainly feels like a one-off opportunity. And as far from reality as the French Riviera is, it’s undoubtably a privilege to experience.

Later this year, there’s a far more toned-down awards event called Kinsale Sharks. More awards, panels and the other important bits, but also a lot of pubs and beer-drinking (so I hear!).

When Cannes isn’t your style, just hold off until September where you can really lean into good old Irish drinking etiquette.