More than 20 film festivals around the world have unified to broadcast movies free of charge on YouTube, after the outbreak of the newly created Corona Virus closed cinemas, and led to the cancellation of two annual festivals in Cannes and New York.
The Tribeca Enterprises and YouTube, which are organizing the event, said in a statement on Monday that during the 10-day event, "We are All One: The World Film Festival", films chosen by the Berlin, Cannes, Venice, Sundance, Toronto and Tribeca festivals, along with other festivals, will start on 29. May".
During the event, feature films, documentaries, music and comedies will be shown. Details of the program have not been released, and the shows will likely not include major new films which are usually shown for the first time in film festivals.
The cancellation of the Cannes Festival in France in May, and the uncertainty surrounding the fate of the Venice and Toronto festivals in September due to the outbreak of the Corona Virus film makers from a main window to promote their new films to the media and the public, is prohibited.
The organizers of the Cannes Festival said yesterday, Monday, that they are proud to participate in the event organized by "YouTube" to highlight truly exceptional movies and talents, allowing the public to experience the nuances of storytelling from all over the world and the artistic character of each festival.
While Jane Rosenthal, the co-founder of the New York Tribeca Festival which was also canceled, noted that the idea is to inspire people across borders and unite them during the pandemic. "The whole world needs recovery now," she added.
Other participating festivals include Mumbai, Sarajevo, Sydney, Tokyo and London.
Although the films will be broadcast for free, viewers will be asked to donate to the Solidarity Fund for the WHO response to Covid-19.