Under the natural conditions, it was usual for the French city of Cannes to witness the Riviera beach at this time, the influx of movie stars and senior workers in this field to attend the Cannes Festival, one of the largest events in world cinema.
But things look different this time. On his vision of the Cannes Film Festival in its edition this year, the festival director, Terry Fermo said, "In light of the epidemic, the obvious thing to do was to cancel the festival, but the festival president Pierre Leskor and I could not see ourselves moving towards 2021 simply and leaving those who depend on us." .
"Therefore, we decided to move forward so that the Cannes Festival can contribute to what is coming," he added. The health crisis is unfortunate, but we must not fail to return to life. And the Festival de Cannes wanted to be an essential part of this recovery. ”
Therefore, by the end of this month, an official choice of the names of the films will be announced, "in order to clarify what films we have seen and liked, and to facilitate their presentation in cinemas and festivals," and after that, the "Cannes Film Market" will be established for those working in the field of cinema. Plans for the so-called "he was out of the wall" will also be announced, and will feature films supported by the organizers in France and abroad.
When asked about rumors about possible cooperation with the Venice Festival, Fermo replied, "This is not rumor, but rather a very strong shared desire." The issue of postponing Cannes was discussed until next September, but this date was not commensurate with the date of the Venice Festival. As a result, we are talking about meeting together in Lido, on behalf of world cinema, to support the films themselves, adding: “The exceptional situation requires an exceptional response.”
Regarding his idea of the online market, which was announced soon after its launch, Fermo said, "Film workers who buy and sell films should meet together to prepare for the future, i.e. 2021."
Naturally, the Cannes film market is reserved for professionals. A market like this is a place to share movies, texts, and teasers for movies. This will not be a regular festival with the press, guests, and the public, but of course, distributors will present films to the press when they are released, because this is the time when we need support. One of the biggest challenges facing the world of cinema is the return of films and viewers to cinemas around the world. Asked if setting up an electronic version of the festival was one of the options, Fermo replied, "No, of course, it's not an option. Can someone show me what a digital festival will look like? Who will the audience be? How will we organize the matter in terms of time and space? What will the financial conditions be like? Will the films being shown be released in theaters? Journalists like to talk about an electronic festival, but it must be noted that the electronic festival only works with films that are shown only over the Internet, because it has no hope of showing on cinema screens, and this is far from the spirit of Cannes.
Regarding how to deal with the current situation, Fermo said: “We are professionals. I realized at the end of February that the situation was very dangerous, and that the Festival de Cannes would face a threat. I always prepared for the worst, but the worst happened. And canceling a festival is not like a struggle all day long in a hospital to treat patients. "I am not upset, I am a fighter."
"I think this global pandemic, which has no mercy on anyone, will accelerate the transformation of the world and cinema," Fermo said. On a personal level, as a citizen, I want to have real awareness, especially regarding environmental and climate issues. We were able to destroy the economy because of a virus. We do not ask for ideals because of the world’s climate, wars or hunger, but we can do better. We can do more than that, right? ”
Fermo explained that cinema is going through a period of profound changes, and we must take advantage of this crisis to face the future. "The announcement of the death of the cinema is not new, but we know very well that this is not real," he said. "The press prefers to talk about movie theaters, which is good, because it is famous everywhere."
"But the cinema is closed. Imagine for a second the opposite of the current situation: a virus that attacks computers and causes everyone to close their screens." "As a result, audiences will rush to the cinemas, we will return to record 450 million viewers like 1947 and more, but unfortunately, we are seeing the opposite situation, cinemas are closed, and movie theaters are on top." And he continued, "After the beautiful 2019 year, cinema does not deserve it, in its 125th anniversary, but it will return stronger than before, see you in Cannes 2021."
"The e-festival only works with films that have no hope of being shown on cinema screens."
“I always prepared for the worst, but the worst happened. Canceling a festival is not like a struggle all day long in a hospital to treat patients. "I am not upset, I am a fighter."