The Cannes Film Festival has come and gone, but Netflix still wants to talk about the big news that came out of the festival this year – the rules changes. According to the new rules that will go into effect in 2018, “Any film that wishes to compete in competition at Cannes will have to commit itself to being distributed in French movie theatres.” It’s clearly a “No Netflix” rule, and the executives at Netflix aren’t going to sit there and take it quietly.
“It’s not even an independent selection process if they stand by that rule,” Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said at PGA’s Produced By conference (via Variety). He goes on to discuss what might happen if this rule goes into effect, “If [Cannes] ceases to be about the celebration of film and filmmaking, I don’t think it can continue to be that relevant.”
READ MORE: TIFF & Venice Festivals React To Cannes/Netflix Battle
“A film festival is meant to celebrate the art of filmmaking,” Sarandos added. “A lot of the things that you see at a film festival have no commercial viability at all. That really is the role of a film festival.”
While the film festivals might not agree with the assessment, the truth is that only the large profile films, with a few exceptions, rise to the top and get a big release. However, most of the films will get decidedly smaller distribution and barely register on most audience’s radar. That’s where streaming services like Netflix, Amazon, and even Hulu come in. These companies can give these films a chance to be seen by millions of people all over the world. Yes, that even means viewers in France.
Clearly, this issue isn’t going to be solved anytime soon. Maybe if Netflix continues its trend of funding exciting new films from great filmmakers, Cannes and other festivals that enact a similar rule will see that times are changing, and they will also adapt. Unfortunately, this rule is about much more than film festival accolades. This is all part of the larger discussion of where streaming services and VOD fit in with the traditional Hollywood distribution model.
One thing is for certain, the people over at Netflix are more than happy to fight anyone in their way.
