A week ago, the idea that the Cannes Film Festival is yet to announce whether or not the May event will be canceled or postponed due to the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus) wasn’t all that crazy. At that point, the outlook wasn’t great, but there was still a shred of optimism that was championed by people hoping that the worst will come well before May. Now, with European countries on lockdown and the US seemingly following suit, it’s fairly obvious that Cannes isn’t going to happen. And the Hollywood agencies and deal-makers have decided to take the matter into their own hands.
According to Variety, agencies such as CAA, Endeavor Content, UTA, and ICM Partners, as well as other organizations and Hollywood figures, have taken it upon themselves to begin the preparation of a “virtual market” that would take the place of the annual Cannes Marché du Film. While this might not mean much for film fans, as this is strictly for agents and Hollywood businesspeople, it’s the first major sign that people aren’t willing to wait until “the end of April” (which is when Cannes said a decision about the festival will be made) to find out that the prestigious festival won’t be happening.
Again, this isn’t a method to replace the Cannes Film Festival with a virtual event, but instead, a way for film deals to be made in a virtual space that would have likely been made at the French event. And this is clearly a sign that things aren’t looking good for Cannes, as we begin to see how long this COVID-19 pandemic might interfere with the film industry.
READ MORE: Cannes Won’t Make An Official Decision About The Event’s Status Until The End Of April
As we’ve come to realize, any sort of public event, whether its a film festival, a concert, or even just a large party, is being canceled or postponed due to the spread of coronavirus. It’s unlikely that this is going to change before May, and even if it does, the Cannes Film Festival will have to make a decision sooner rather than later if it expects that people will make plans to go to France.
