20 Problems Only Cannes Film Festival Attendees Will Understand

Cannes is so in love with itself that it has a very long running inside joke that most there don't even know the source of.

As soon as the lights go down, some hilarious stranger in the dark will shout "Raoul!" You can tell how long you've been at the festival by the ferocity of the laughter that greets it: knowing and congratulatory at first and then silent and aggressive by the end.

Apparently, 40 years or so ago, an audience member was trying to save a seat for his friend Raoul, and as it became increasingly difficult, he shouted out his name, turning the moment into the most unlikely of memes. Since then, it's happened every year.

That's what constitutes humour on the Croisette, you see.  That and the ironic applause that greets the Weinstein Company logo every time, too.