Cannes film fest won't go virtual, looking for alternative

The fest organisers will unveil a selection of movies in early June and collaborate with several festivals, including Venice, to present some films, reports variety.com.

"As of today, a physical edition seems complicated to organise, so we are going forward with an announcement of films from the (initial Official) Selection at the beginning of June," said a spokesperson for the festival.

The spokesperson confirmed what Cannes' director Thierry Fremaux shared during an interview with Screen Daily.

Instead of going for a virtual festival, Cannes will be organising a "redeployment outside the walls (of Cannes), in collaboration with fall festivals", the spokesperson mentioned.

It includes Venice, and they have already initiated talks with the fest organisers and cinemas.

Last month, it was revealed that the Cannes Film Festival will not take place in June due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It was also reported that the organisers are busy exploring different options to conduct the festival later this year.

Meanwhile, Fremaux has shared a instead of releasing the whole list of Official Selection, including out of competition and Un Certain Regard, he will put out a list of movies which were scheduled to release "in between now and next spring". The movies will be given a "Cannes 2020" label.

The "labelled" films will be showcased at festivals such as Toronto, Deauville, Angouleme, San Sebastian, New York, Busan and Lumière festival.

The selection process for next year's festival will start later this year. Movies, which were selected for this edition and got delayed release by a year, will be considered for the 2021 edition.