The Delegate General of the Cannes Film Festival, Thierry Frflictax, announced the establishment of an alliance with the Venice Film Festival, while the parallel sections of the Cannes meeting threw in the towel on Wednesday due to the health crisis.
“Like every year, I talk a lot with Alberto Barbera (head of the Mostra team), who is also obviously concerned. Since the beginning of the crisis, we have expressed the possibility of getting closer if Cannes is cancelled”, he told Variety on Wednesday. fair.
“We continue to discuss this,” he says. “Other festivals have invited us: Locarno, San Sebastián, Deauville. These are gestures that touch us.”
“If we are fighting, it is not for the festival itself, but to support the economic recovery of the sector on a global scale: films, artists, professionals, cinemas and its audience”, he insisted. “The festival wants to be there in the fall to contribute to that.”
As it cannot be postponed to the end of June and beginning of July, the French authorities have decided to ban festivals until at least mid-July due to the Corona virus crisis, Cannes announced on Tuesday that its 2020 edition could take on new “ shapes”. ”.
Parallel Sessions Of The Cannes Film Festival Are Canceled
Outlining his ideas for Variety, Thierry Främax ruled out a virtual edition of the festival, either of a shorter duration than usual (twelve days) or with fewer sections, while Directors Every Week, Criticism Week and ACID announced the cancellation of your festival. The 2020 edition is on Wednesday.
“The Parallel Sections of the Cannes Film Festival… regret to announce the cancellation of the 2020 editions of the Cannes Film Festival,” they said in a joint press release.
The press concluded by saying: “To support the entire film industry, which is deeply affected by the current situation, each department is studying, in consultation with the Cannes Film Festival, the best way to continue supporting the films entered in the 2020 edition.” of three parallel sections.
The festival, which was scheduled for May of each year, refused to give up in the face of the Corona virus epidemic at the end of March, considering that the postponement to the end of June – beginning of July had already passed since Monday afternoon.
Ansi Chooses Digital
Film festivals are confused about the strategy used to tackle the health crisis: postponement? immediate cancellation? or a digital copy?
The animation industry’s biggest festival, Annecy, meanwhile, has canceled its 2020 launch but plans an online mini-version, it revealed some details on Wednesday.
“Overall, the 2020 Selection is lighter and more humorous than those of recent years”, with “thematic themes, namely the environment, immigration and gender identity”, say its organizers, highlighting films that seem “ to predict the current situation”. . Among them are “Empty Places” by Geoffroy de Crécy, “The Physics of Grief” by Theodore Aushev and “Something to Remember” by Nicky Lindroth von Baar. The list of feature films from the official selection and running in VR virtual reality will be known in mid-May.
