• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, June 23, 2011

So far, the only surprising thing I've learned during JWT's "power of the people" panel at the Cannes Lions Festival this morning, is that actor and filmmaker Fischer Stevens has only been arrested once in his life, and it was for a traffic violation in North Carolina.

Stevens described his single misdemeanor "sadly," because he was throwing a nod to his fellow panelsits, Kuwaiti filmmaker Jehane Noujaim ("The Control Room") and Egyptian Filmmaker Amr Salama, who literally risked their lives filming the power taken by people during the "Arab Spring" revolutions.

Stevens, whose film "The Cove" nonetheless shed light on an important cause, the slaughter of dolphins, seemed wistful about the cinematic roles played by his fellow panelists.