Film festival organizers announced Tuesday that the festival will not take place in June, a message that came the day after France's President Emmanuel Macron extended the coronary-related restrictions in the country. The restrictions mean that all festivals, events and large gatherings are banned until at least mid-July.
The organizers had originally considered postponing the festival further, from June to July, but wrote in a press release that it is no longer an option:
"Following the French president's statement, on Monday, April 13, we acknowledge that the postponement of the 73rd International Film Festival in Cannes, from the end of June to the beginning of July, as originally contemplated, is no longer an option. It's hard to believe that the festival will be held this year in its original form. "
Aims for a festival in 2020The organizers of the festival also write that they are exploring all possibilities for a festival 2020 in one way or another, but have no information on how or when a festival would be lost in such cases.
“We all know that many uncertainties still prevail over the international health situation. We hope to be able to communicate about the forms that Cannes 2020 will take shortly. ”, The festival organizers write.
The festival was forced to cancel mid-1968 due to protests and in 2003 there were fewer Asian participants at the festival due to the outbreak of the SARS virus, but it is 70 years since a festival edition did not go away at all.