A month ago, the idea that coronavirus would have led to any sort of cancellation in the film festival circuit was pretty far-fetched. But now, anything’s possible. With SXSW canceling a week before opening night, as well as various other large worldwide media events getting axed, it’s clear that coronavirus has been wreaking havoc on the film industry already. So, now with SXSW off the map, it’s time to look forward to spring and Cannes. And let’s just say, things are becoming a bit worrisome.
READ MORE: SXSW 2020 Canceled Due To Coronavirus Concerns
Last week, it was announced that France had put a ban on large public gatherings that featured more than 5,000 people and extended the ban until the end of May. When that happened, the media asked the organizers of the 2020 Cannes Film Festival what was going to happen? They answered that everything was fine. Then yesterday, French officials made the ban effective to gatherings as large as 1,000 people. Now, Cannes organizers are being asked, once again, is everything going to be okay? And according to The Guardian, the answer is the same as it was before.
“Nothing has changed our end,” a spokesperson said. “The festival staff are currently working. The festival heads are liaising with the city hall of Cannes and the prefecture, and will take all the mandatory measures to follow the legislation.”
As we approached SXSW last week, it started to become apparent that the festival was likely going to get shelved, as major studios began to announce they wouldn’t attend and the filmmakers, actors, and producers followed suit. We’re still two months away from Cannes, so there is plenty of time for this to all change. However, there’s also plenty of time for coronavirus to get worse. So, obviously, the officials at Cannes aren’t going to preemptively cancel the festival this far in advance.
That being said, the writing on the wall is beginning to become more clear. With death tolls rising and no vaccine or end of the outbreak in sight, especially in Europe, we could be presented with a Cannes-less year. Honestly, that’s a decision that could have a huge ripple effect that we’re not willing to speculate too much about now. Needless to say, it would be a massive announcement.
As of now, the Cannes Film Festival is set to begin on May 12.