Seven Bentley University students will attend the world-renowned Cannes International Film Festival in France as part of an elite group of students selected to participate in The American Pavilion Film Program and International Business Program from May 12 - 23, 2010.

The opportunity exemplifies Bentley's core mission to provide students with an education that seamlessly integrates business and liberal arts. Senior Lecturer and Director of the Media and Culture Program Liz LeDoux, who has helped develop and grow Bentley's popular media programs, points out that Cannes is where all types of film industry professionals - filmmakers, studio executives and distributors alike - converge to discuss, buy, sell, market and promote motion pictures. "Although the industry might seem sexier than the average business industry, the business of film faces the same fiscal and ethical challenges as any other business," says LeDoux. "The American Pavilion internship program offers students a chance to explore the challenges that lie in the crossroads of cultural production and commercial enterprise."

This is the third year the internship program has specifically targeted international business students as participants. Previously, the program's focus was primarily on attracting film students, but interest and accomplishments of undergraduate business students from Bentley over the past several years helped to break ground for business student inclusion in The American Pavilion model.

This year's diverse group of Bentley students come from a variety of academic backgrounds. It is the second year that multiple students will be attending both the Film Program and the International Business Program. The seven Bentley student participants are:

• Cristina Bolívar - Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Class of 2011, Media and Culture Major, accepted into Cannes Filmmakers Program.
• Carter R. Elkin-Paris - East Orleans, MA, Class of 2010, Media and Culture Major, accepted into Cannes Filmmakers Program.
• Alex Mace Hagen - Plymouth, MA, Class of 2010, Media and Culture Major, accepted into Cannes Filmmakers Program.
• Christopher Hall - Lincoln, RI, Class of 2011, Double Major in Management and Liberal Studies-Media Arts and Society, accepted into Cannes Filmmakers Program.
• Sylvain Lucarelli - Fair Haven, NJ, Class of 2011, Media and Culture Major, accepted in Cannes International Business Program.
• Brianna Schneider - Marblehead, MA, Class of 2011, Double Major in Marketing and Liberal Studies-Media Arts and Society, accepted in Cannes International Business Program.
• Christine Varriale - Medway, MA, Class of 2010, Double Major in Managerial Economics and Liberal Studies-Media Arts and Society, accepted into Cannes Filmmakers Program.

Thanks to a Rauch Grant awarded to Ledoux and English and Media Studies Professors Ben Aslinger, the English and Media Studies department will publicly stream The American Pavilion's Virtual Cannes program on the web from May 12 - 23. This will allow students on the Bentley campus to participate in educational seminars with live questions and answer sessions via videoconferencing during the festival. Webcasts of student roundtables, celebrity interviews, and panels with media industry luminaries will also be available. Past speakers have included former Paramount Pictures CEO Sherry Lansing, director Brett Ratner, and Miramax film co-founder and co-chair of The Weinstein Company Harvey Weinstein.

For the past 22 years, The American Pavilion has offered film students the opportunity to participate in programs that take place at the Cannes Film Festival. The International Business Program at The American Pavilion is open to business students with a serious interest in entertainment. Participants are part of the work-study program and are given the opportunity to experience the inner workings of the film business as an intern with an entertainment company at the festival. Students in all programs take part in roundtable discussions, pitch sessions, and educational workshops. All students observe firsthand the fast-paced nature of the Festival and Market.

THE AMERICAN PAVILION, serving as a communication and hospitality center for the thousands of Americans in Cannes during the Cannes Film Festival, provides an impressive array of facilities and services to the international film community. For the corporate sponsors of The American Pavilion, the dozens of exhibitors and office holders, and the thousands of American participants, The American Pavilion accommodates the need for information, orientation, and recreation. For the duration of the festival, The American Pavilion provides both a dynamic business environment and an opportunity to relax in comfortable surroundings.  Since its debut at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival, The Pavilion has become a permanent fixture on the Cannes landscape. Just a few steps from the Palais des Festivals, where all the major Festival films are premiered, and with a panoramic view of the Cote d'Azur, The American Pavilion is the perfect place to transact business, share ideas, and effectively reach the thousands of affluent international business travelers who attend the Festival every year. For more information, visit www.ampav.com.