Although the Festival de Cannes may not be the oldest film festival in the world (its 1946 debut makes it a spring chicken compared to Venice Film Festival's 1932 birth), Cannes takes the prize as the most storied, most prestigious, most star-studded spectacle.

Well, at least since Louis B. Mayer's brag in 1932 that MGM had "more stars than there are in heaven."

Traipsing among the talent and displaying a cherished press badge strung around her neck will be yours truly, a Pacific Northwest film critic who originally hails from Tinseltown, California.

As one friend put it, "Kimberly, you had to leave town in order to get into the business."

I've worked in and around Hollywood for years, and I've recently trudged through the freezing January snow of Park City, Utah, while attending Sundance. And though Utah may have its charms, I think France's Côte-d'Azur (the French Riviera, or specifically, "the azure blue coast") has a bit of a leg up.

Hmmm... appreciating the coastal blue vs. turning blue? Not a tough call to make.

What will be a challenge, however, will be choosing among the myriad events to attend, films to review and personal experiences to share during the 12 days in May -- the 11th to 22nd, to be exact. And while my visit to Cannes Film Festival is a first, so is my assignment writing for the Tri-City Herald.

Which will be more thrilling? Only time will tell ...

Until next time, I'll be sitting in the dark — as usual.