You work in English
That’s not the issue
Cannes demands more
You’re pitching and defending your work again and again
If it’s not clear and positioned, people move on
Even native speakers practise
Your project. Your English. Your pitch.
English & pitch coaching for film professionals
Meetings are harder to secure, and easier to lose
Get in shape for the Croisette
Cannes Film Festival · Opens 12 May 2026
Most people are comfortable at one of these levels. Success at Cannes demands more from you. We help you practise to get to the level you need.
This isn't English practice. It's high-performance preparation for every conversation your project will face at Cannes.
No project at Cannes? We cover film and industry conversations too.
Don't get lost in the noise.
View packages →Cannes has changed. It’s not about discovery anymore, where projects are picked up on the strength of the idea alone. It’s about where your project fits, and how you sell it to the industry.
You have minutes to convince them your film travels. Territory, audience, comparable titles. They are deciding whether to stake their reputation on it.
They want to know where it sits in the market. You need to answer without sounding defensive about the budget or the cast.
You are asking someone to share creative control and financial risk. The language of partnership under pressure is different from a straight pitch.
The questions come fast and sideways. Return on investment. Completion bond. What happens if the lead drops out. You need to hold the room while answering things you did not expect.
They have a slate, a demographic and a content strategy you need to fit into. You are not just pitching a film, you are pitching a relationship.
You are talking attachments: talent, director, IP. The conversation moves between creative and commercial without warning. Following it in English while staying sharp is harder than it sounds.
No agenda, no materials, no safety net. Someone asks what you are working on. You have thirty seconds before they decide if it is worth more of their time. The most underrated meeting of the week, and the one people prepare for least.
drag to explore →
Not in any of these meetings? The networking conversation is where most people without a project get lost. That matters too.
Pitch the market value, not just the story. Buyers need to understand how a project can be packaged in a competitive market. They respond to pitches where the heavy lifting on positioning and audience has already been done.
This is for people across the film industry. Whatever your role, we build the sessions around your work and how you need to communicate it.
You are asked what the film is, fast. Tone. References. Why it works. You do not get time to circle into it.
You are explaining your project constantly. What it is. Why it matters. Why you. You are finding your voice in real time.
They go straight in. Where is it at. Who is in. What is confirmed. You either answer cleanly or you start losing ground.
You hear a project once and decide if it is worth more time. If it is unclear, you move on.
You are introducing yourself again and again. Who you are. What you are doing. Why now. It has to stay sharp.
You need to place the project immediately. What it is. Where it sits. Who it travels to. There is no slow build.
A lot of people go to Cannes without a project. But everyone is there for a reason. We practise how you talk about your industry, your work, and what brings you there, so you can handle those conversations with clarity, confidence, and purpose.
You are at Cannes without a project to pitch. You still need to work every conversation. Who you are, what you do, why you are there. In English. To people who do this every year. That is a skill and it needs practice.
Not every conversation at Cannes is about a deal. But all of them are an audition of some kind. How you speak about the industry, how you hold your own in a discussion, how you sound when you are not prepared.
Discussing what you are watching, what is getting buzz, what you think. Having a point of view in English, not just answering questions. This is what makes people want to keep talking to you.
Financing structures, territory deals, co-production logic, what the streamers are buying. Talking about the industry fluently in English changes how people read you in a room.
Cannes brings together over 35,000 people from around 160 countries. Conversations happen in many languages, but English has become the unofficial lingua franca.
We push how you explain your work, how you handle questions and how you hold it under pressure. The approach depends on what you need.
Building you up. Backing you. Strengthening your confidence so you walk in clear and ready. The focus is on what works and making it stronger.
This is the hard version. Direct. Probing. Sometimes uncomfortable. The questions a financier or sales agent will actually ask, at speed, without warning.
More sessions allow for more practice, more confidence, and a deeper look at your project, materials, and overall objectives.
All sessions are remote, scheduled around European timezone.
Cannes Refresh
1 × 60-minute session
£140 / €160
Meeting Ready
3 × 60-minute sessions
£390 / €450
Full Cannes Prep
5 × 60-minute sessions
£600 / €700
Also available
Not coming to Cannes with a project? Still need to be ready? These sessions focus on the conversations you will actually have, from networking, general discussion about the festival, talking about film and the wider industry.
For networking, general conversations and perfecting your voice in English at Cannes.
This package is not focused on high-stakes pitch preparation or helping you talk through decks and your materials.
2 × 60-minute 1:1 sessions
£180 / €220
Working to a tighter timeline or need something tailored? We can shape sessions around you.
Want to test how you handle Cannes conversations?
Try a quick Cannes-style pressure test and see how you respond to the kinds of questions you'll face at Cannes.
Try the Pressure Test →From day one, what I’ve always loved most is getting close to people and their projects, often passion projects they’ve spent years getting off the ground, and helping them share that with the world.
I’ve worked across film marketing for years, supporting producers, directors and filmmakers on how their projects are positioned, presented and communicated. That’s meant being involved across the whole project cycle, from development and getting greenlit, through production, post-production and promotion.
The magic of cinema and all the many parts that go into making a film before it even gets to the distribution stage, and all the hard work that goes into it, is something I’ve seen first-hand.
I’ve been privileged to witness and support people across these various stages, and I’ve also seen the importance of why festivals matter for so many filmmakers.
That’s why communication matters so much at these moments. Everyone needs practice when preparing for high-pressure situations. Even native speakers workshop their material, test their ideas and get coaching before the moments that matter.
But for film professionals who aren’t native English speakers, there’s a real gap. A regular English teacher or business tutor won’t cut it. They don’t understand the industry and can’t challenge you on your positioning or your thinking in a way that’s rooted in it.
Through this, combined with my past experience teaching English, I saw a clear gap in offering strategic support and coaching around how projects are positioned and presented, alongside more in-depth conversation practice.
This became the starting point for creating a service that combines coaching with advanced English conversation practice, tailored to the wider creative industries, including filmmakers.
My English is good enough. Is this really for me?
Good enough for dinner. Not for a room where someone is deciding if your project is worth their money. Even native speakers hire coaches before Cannes.
I know my project inside out. Why do I need to practise?
Knowing it and explaining it cleanly under pressure in your second language are not the same thing.
I don't have much time before Cannes.
That is exactly why this is 1:1 and focused. One session can change how you walk into every meeting that week.
Do I need business English preparation before Cannes?
This is not general business English. Cannes is specific. Fast conversations, direct questions, pressure and repetition. We focus on how you talk about your work in those situations, not generic business language.
What happens in a session?
We work on your project, your pitch and the real conversations you are going to have at Cannes. You talk, I listen, I push. There is no classroom structure and no homework required. For the Quick Sharpen and Meeting Ready packages I come in cold, no materials, no prep. That is deliberate. It replicates exactly what happens when you walk into a room at Cannes with someone who hasn't read anything.
What is the difference between the packages?
The Quick Sharpen and Meeting Ready packages are built entirely around what happens in the session, no preparation needed from you beforehand. The Full Cannes Prep goes deeper. We build tailored scenarios specifically around your meetings, your slate and the real situations you are walking into.
Do you give homework?
Only if you want it. Some people like to have something to work on between sessions. Others prefer to just show up and work. Both approaches work fine.
A few lines is enough. Tell me your role or the part of the industry you work in, why you’re heading to the festival, and what you’d like coaching help with.
Prefer to email directly? cannes@creative-speak.com