Cannes Film Festival postponed over coronavirus pandemic

As the pandemic spread through France, it became all but inevitable that a massive gathering like Cannes would be cancelled

Workers set up the official poster of the 72nd Cannes Film Festival on 12 May 2019. (VALERY HACHE/AFP via Getty Images)

The Cannes Film Festival has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Organisers announced on Thursday that the event could now be held in June or July instead of the scheduled dates in May.

“Today, we have made the following decision: The Festival de Cannes cannot be held on the scheduled dates, from 12 to 23 May,” reads a statement on the festival’s website.

“Several options are considered in order to preserve its running, the main one being a simple postponement, in Cannes, until the end of June (or) beginning of July 2020.”

The update continues: “As soon as the development of the French and international health situation will allow us to assess the real possibility, we will make our decision known, in accordance with our ongoing consultation with the French government and Cannes’ city hall as well as with the festival’s board members, film industry professionals and all the partners of the event.”

Organisers also expressed their support to those abiding by France’s strict lockdown rules.

“In the meantime, the Festival de Cannes lends its vocal support to all of those who firmly call on everyone to respect the general lockdown, and ask to show solidarity in these difficult times for the entire world,” the statement adds.

Organisers had appeared extremely reluctant to cancel Cannes – arguably the world’s most prestigious film festival and cinema’s largest annual gathering.

But as the pandemic spread through France, it became all but inevitable that a massive gathering like Cannes would be cancelled.

On Saturday, France’s Prime Minister Édouard Philippe ordered the closure of all restaurants, cafes and cinemas in France to increase social distancing and combat the virus.

Other major film festivals, including South by Southwest and the Tribeca Film Festival, have already been scuttled.

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Cannes has greater ramifications for the film industry, which annually convenes on the Côte d’Azur not just for the festival’s gala screenings but for the world’s largest movie market.

Every year, countless production and distribution deals are hatched in Cannes. Film executives fly in from all over the world and gather at the Marché du Film in the basement of Cannes’ hub, the Palais. Every country with a film industry erects a pavilion at Cannes’ international village.

Additional reporting by agencies