It appears that, as of now, the fall film festival circuit will exist in some form or fashion in 2020. This is good news for the film industry after the spring and summer festivals were largely canceled, including the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. And while we’ve only just begun to see the impact of these cancellations on the world of cinema, filmmaker Pablo Larraín thinks the effects could be huge for a collection of films he thinks will be “lost.”
Speaking at a virtual Cannes Film Market event (via Variety), Larraín, who is probably best known for his films “Jackie” and the recently released “Ema,” discussed the long-term effects that these film festival cancellations will have on the industry. And though he believes the festivals and most films are going to be perfectly fine, there are other projects that he thinks will bear the full brunt of this pandemic-induced change in the festival circuit.
“Those movies that were meant to be in those festivals have lost something because the festival couldn’t exist and that is very sad. It’s like a lost generation somehow,” he said. “Most will get to theaters and platforms – but there’s something that we’ve lost and will never recover. We need to live with that. It’s a sad story. I hope we get to learn from it and react better if there is another pandemic.”
But it’s not just the films that were anticipated to play in this year’s spring and summer festivals that will experience hardship. He thinks that the effects of these cancellations will be felt in 2021, where some features are pushed aside in favor of delayed 2020 films.
“Cannes usually takes in 60 movies – if some of these go to the following festival in 2021 then the movies that were supposed to be in that slot miss out,” Larraín explained. “There’s still a generation of movies that are going to be hurt.”
Obviously, when the dust has settled and we can fully see the long-term effects of COVID-19 on the film industry, we’ll have a better idea of just how devastating the pandemic has been on cinema. But it’s clear, just from observations now, that Larraín is correct and the smaller features that depend the most on festival buzz will be affected the most. Hopefully, the “lost generation” isn’t as large as we fear it might be.
