Few towns will be feeling the cultural impact of the pandemic next week as much as Cannes. At this time it should be abuzz with preparations for the film festival, which was due to open on 12 May. The red carpets would be at the dry cleaners, the hotels would be stocking up on champagne, and women would be packing their high heels (several female attendees were turned away in 2015 for wearing flat shoes).
However, despite attempted postponements and workarounds (red carpet masks?), Cannes is not happening this year. Autumn festivals such as Venice and Toronto are also in doubt. As with so many other aspects of life, the pandemic has exposed the fragility of film festivals, and raised the question of how much we need them at all.
In answer to the last question, just look at the films that premiered at Cannes last year: Parasite, Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Atlantics, Pain and Glory. Cannes sorts the good from the mediocre, champions talent new and old, and sets much of the agenda for the rest of the year. It is one of the giant trees that supports the global ecosystem of cinema.
Beyond its commercial functions (it remains one of the movie world’s primary marketplaces), Cannes has also come to symbolise an idea of cinema, as opposed to mere movies: of a mature and legitimate art form, like opera or ballet, to be consumed at prestigious gatherings in formal attire – even if the movie is, say, Kung Fu Panda (which premiered there in 2008). Reiterating this commitment, festival director Thierry Frémaux excluded titles by Netflix and Amazon from competition in 2018, since they would not be released on the big screen. Frémaux has also ruled out the idea of hosting Cannes virtually this year. “Its soul, its history, its efficiency, it’s a model that wouldn’t work,” he told Variety.
As much as his passion for cinema, Frémaux’s principled stance could also betray the fear that if a virtual Cannes was a success, people might ask if we still needed the real thing. If it’s cinema that really matters, why the whole circus of red carpets and private yachts and parties to which you’re not invited? In terms of sustainability, frugality and championing your new magnum opus on humanity’s struggle, it’s not really such a good look, even without the masks.
Cannes might not have a choice, though. Later this month, in what could be interpreted as a circling of the wagons, it is participating in We Are One: a new, free, streaming film festival with programming from major festivals including Berlin, Venice, Sundance and Toronto. Not only is Cannes banding together with its rivals, the event is being hosted by – quelle horreur! – YouTube. Of course, Cannes and other festivals are vital and must return, but maybe this is a chance to reassess their priorities.
