Colin Hickson, head of commercial production at Propaganda/Satellite Films is pleased with the Palme d'Or presented to his production company this year (their third Golden Palm in four years) and says he hopes the win will spell an end to much of the anti-Propaganda propaganda floating around the production community.

"Some people have taken great pleasure in sounding the death knell of Propaganda. I hope this Palme d'Or goes in some small way to silencing some of those critics and allowing us to get back to the most important thing for us all: making good ads," says Hickson. Quite an adamant supporter of the Riviera ad bender, Hickson praised the judges for maintaining the relative value of a Gold statuette.

"The quality of the work gets better every year and I think Cannes is now much more of a worldwide platform than it has ever been. On a purely statistical level there were more entries this year than ever and less awards given out," says Hickson. "It was wise to maintain the level of quality, where a Gold Lion at Cannes actually still means something."

In addition to awarding top spots, Hickson recognizes the Cannes Festival as a neutral meeting ground for players in a highly competitive industry.

"Cannes is a very vital community where we get to talk off the record with other production companies, and a less pressured environment to talk with agency people about the situations they are in," he explains. Hickson also points to the value of the Saatchi & Saatchi young directors showcase as an eye opener towards new talent.

"The young directors showcase is a vital part of Cannes - I watch it avidly. The Saatchi & Saatchi show is not the only source, but it is certainly a well-researched list and well needed," says Hickson. Regarding the industry wide obsession with "new" or "fresh" talent, Hickson addresses the disposable nature of the directing game: "The prime function of using this talent is to gain attention; if we can't do this it doesn't matter how good the message is. So if younger people have different attitudes and a new way of attracting attention, good. But change for change's sake isn't good. Change to grab people's attention, is necessary. This is not the solemn right of the young. One has to continually self-assess what one does as a filmmaker and keep looking back and keep referring and trying to get better. That's why we offer our directors opportunities in other areas, like short form, features or the Internet.

WEB.FILES

Cannes Festival> www.canneslions.com

Commercial Film Producers of Europe> www.cfp-e.com

Propaganda> www.propagandafilms.com