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Targeting Netflix, Cannes Will Ban Streaming-Only Movies From Competition

posted by mrpg on Saturday May 13 2017, @06:03AM   
from the first-the-talkies-now-the-onlinies dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

Official press release

The Cannes Film Festival is taking a stand against Netflix. Responding to a rumor that the streaming service's Okja, directed by Bong Joon Ho, and The Meyerowitz Stories, directed by Noah Baumbach, would be excluded from awards consideration after being included in the Competition lineup, the festival released a statement clarifying and adjusting its positioning going forward. The short version: From now on, if you want to compete at Cannes, your movie had better be released in French movie theaters—not just online.

There has long been a point of tension between Cannes and Netflix, to the extent where the inclusion of Okja and The Meyerowitz Stories came as a bit of a surprise. Netflix films had previously been snubbed and festival officials had advocated for "discouraging" the streaming service's online-first approach to release. The two movies included in Cannes' lineup this year are slated for theatrical bows stateside, but according to the festival's official statement, "no agreement has been reached" to get the moves into French cinemas and the effort to reach one was made "in vain." However, the statement does clarify that this rule goes into effect next year, so Okja and The Meyerowitz Stories will remain in competition and eligible for the Palme d'Or.

Seems the Cannes Film Festival is less about film and more about an outdated business model.

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Original Submission

• Re:So scared. (Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday May 13 2017, @03:51PM

  by takyon (881) <takyonNO@SPAMsoylentnews.org> on Saturday May 13 2017, @03:51PM (#509187) Journal

  Cannes is the top film festival for artsy "liberal" types and Europeans particularly. It is probably the world's most well known film festival. The treatment that "mainstream" films get there can vary, but the thing itself is used as a marketing tool.

  Amazon is also affected by this decision as the article notes.

  Since it doesn't go into effect until next year, it will be interesting to see if Netflix tries to launch films in 1-2 theaters. It would be pretty funny if someone released a CAM copy of the films in the short interval before streaming was enabled. Or maybe they can launch streaming first and do a token French theater release later.

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannes_Film_Festival [wikipedia.org]

  The festival has become an important showcase for European films. Jill Forbes and Sarah Street argue in European Cinema: An Introduction (ISBN 0333752104), that Cannes "became...extremely important for critical and commercial interests and for European attempts to sell films on the basis of their artistic quality" (page 20).[17] Forbes and Street also point out that, along with other festivals such as the Venice Film Festival and Berlin International Film Festival, Cannes offers an opportunity to determine a particular country's image of its cinema and generally foster the notion that European cinema is "art" cinema.[17]

  Additionally, given massive media exposure, the non-public festival is attended by many movie stars and is a popular venue for film producers to launch their new films and attempt to sell their works to the distributors who come from all over the globe.

  As you might expect, movie celebs and a French film festival mix well.

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