Pospishil, HRTM student, selected for internship at 2014 Cannes International Film Festival

29 Jan 2014    

Stevie Pospishil, a Hospitality, Restaurant and Tourism Management (HRTM) major has been selected to be a student intern at the 2014 Cannes International Film Festival in Cannes, France this coming May 11-26.

The program provides experience to students interested in film, culinary arts and hospitality/event management. “The Hospitality/Event Internship at the Cannes is an internship I brought to the HRTM program when I started at UNL four years ago. This was possible because of my network with the American Pavilion,” Gina Fe Causin, Assistant Professor in HRTM, stated.

The American Pavilion has been the focus of the U.S. film industry's presence at the Cannes International Film Festival, serving as a communications and hospitality center for journalists, publicists, celebrities, filmmakers and motion picture executives working at the Festival, which boasts 2,612 companies from 74 countries. The internship is a great opportunity for hospitality students to learn about coordinating the biggest special event in the film industry and networking with possible employers.

Student interns stay in Cannes for the duration of the Festival, completing a work placement and participating in educational workshops, seminars, and roundtable discussions. Each program participant is allowed access to the Festival and Film Market—normally available only to industry professionals.

“This is a wonderful way for our students to get hands-on experience in the international hospitality and event management industry,” said Marilynn Schnepf, director of HRTM in UNL’s Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences.

 “Stevie said that she expects to do the normal intern routine of helping with press conferences, preparing event spaces, serving food, assisting members with what they need, getting water, and so on, but she is also looking forward to network with people who are in the film industry – publicists, directors, writers, actors, who can give her insights into how she can get a job in the entertainment industry.”

This is the fourth year that HRTM students have received this internship. As of May 2013, HRTM has had 18 HRTM students attend the Hospitality/Event Management internship at Cannes. Attending the internship at Cannes is life-changing, according to Dustin Bowder, an internship alum last from May 2013.

Upon returning to school after the internship, students share their experiences and lessons learned with the HRTM classes and with members of the hospitality students’ organization.