April 16, 2020
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Because of the corona pandemic, the film festival in Cannes, France, is examining an alliance with the international film festival in Venice. “Since the beginning of the crisis, we have been advising on the possibility of rapprochement if Cannes is canceled,” festival director Thierry Frémaux told Variety magazine.
French culture minister Franck Riester said on Thursday on Radio France Inter that there was still hope for smaller festivals. However, the Cannes Film Festival is one of the most important in the world. Its 73rd edition was originally scheduled for May 12-23.
Because of the Corona crisis, however, all major events in France are canceled until mid-July, as President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday. The Venice Film Festival is scheduled for September 2nd to 12th.
First and foremost, it’s about the films, the artists and the survival of the cinemas, Frémaux said. “The festival wants to be there in the fall to help,” he said. The organizers had previously ruled out a purely digital edition in Cannes.
Minister of Culture Riester said that smaller film or music festivals could possibly take place under strict conditions. The government is currently negotiating this. Overall, however, it was a “terrible time for the culture”.
The largest festival for contemporary music in France has now also been canceled: the Festival des Vieilles Charrues was to take place in Brittany from July 16 to 19. Almost 300,000 people had participated in the past year. To date, more than 17,000 people in France have died from the novel corona virus.
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