May 15, Cannes: The halfway point of the festival has revealed some hits including Mike Leigh’s Secrets and Lies, Patrice Leconte’s Ridicule and Lars von Trier’s Breaking the Waves to name only a few in the official competition.

And of course there’s still the Bertolucci, Cimino and Cronenberg to go. Other selections have boasted finds, including La Promesse from Belgium, Trainspotting, and Jude by Michael Winterbottom.

But the buzz this year so far is literally a buzz: a French documentary called Microcosmos: le Peuple de L’Herbe (literally People of the Grass). Directed by a couple of scientists, the doc is an incredibly engaging look at a day in the life of a bunch of insects – wide-screen, bigger-than-life, color-by-Crayola insects.

On the Canadian front, everyone is awaiting Crash on the 17th. Nothing like having the entire festival to build to a crescendo. Lulu, by Srinivas Krishna played early on in the sidebar program to the competition ‘Un Certain Regard’ while Bruce McDonald’s Hard Core Logo continues to screen in the market. Sous-Sol by Pierre Gang, screens in the Critic’s Week May 16.

Jean Lefebvre of Telefilm Canada looks at this year’s festival as a much calmer edition. There are noticeably fewer people and those industry reps present are doing serious deals and making good use of their shorter stays in Cannes.

‘The atmosphere is more comfortable this year,’ comments Lefebvre. ‘There seems to be less hysteria than in past years and everyone is more relaxed – doing business with old friends.’ Although with the move of the Telefilm Pavilion off the high-traffic Croisette, there is much less drop-in action – less ‘edge,’ as Lefebvre put it.