[Photo &] Breaks Cannes’ selfie ban… Meta AI smart glasses create a stir as the Meta House fills up with visitors

Cannes has, since 2018, banned all selfie (self-camera) photography on the red carpet. It’s because such behavior undermines the dignity and order of the process of heading to the Lumière Grand Theatre.

At the time, Thierry Frémaux, the executive director, sharply criticized selfie shooting as “silly and bizarre” and put a strict stop to the red carpet turning into a stage for social media (SNS) verification photos.

The 79th Cannes International Film Festival is holding now, and the outward scene still looks similar. Whenever spectators take out their smartphones on the red carpet, security personnel move in and stop them.

But this year’s festival, Meta, participating as an official sponsor, cracked that steadfast rule. It pushed to the front an artificial intelligence (AI) smart glasses model called “Ray-Ban Meta”—one that allows filming even without a smartphone.

Influencers from around the world invited by Meta wore the smart glasses and stepped onto the red carpet. With both hands free, they captured the vivid atmosphere on site through the glasses’ lenses.

Their red-carpet first-person (POV) videos and interviews spread quickly through social media, drawing the attention of film fans worldwide.

The Majestic Barrière Hotel, set up near the festival grounds, also saw a steady stream of visitors at the “Meta House.”

Meta laid out a blue carpet in its brand colors to welcome guests and displayed a range of AI glasses lineups, including the sports “Oakley Meta”.

In particular, AI functions closely tied to everyday life drew admiration from visitors. With the glasses on, setting a destination brings up an augmented reality (AR) navigation in front of your eyes, and the real-time translation feature lets you place food orders naturally at a local French restaurant.

A Meta representative said, “From morning to night, the experience area was packed with visitors who wanted to experience the AI smart glasses firsthand,” adding, “Given the nature of the Cannes Film Festival, where people of many nationalities gather, the real-time simultaneous translation feature earned especially strong approval.”