The Cannes Film Festival was unfortunately cancelled this year due to Coronavirus, but organizers still plan to host a three-day event for the illustrious Festival’s 2020 edition. The Palais des Festival will host a ‘Special Cannes’ event, which will run from October 27 – 29 and will feature four films from this year’s Official Selection, as well as in-competition short films and the Cinéfondation’s school films with the event open to the public. Meanwhile, a jury will award the Palme d’Or for short films and the Cinéfondation prizes.
“The collection of four films from the Official Selection, the short film competition, the film school competition, and the dinners and meetings epitomize the happiness we’ll all feel to be together in Cannes in October,” said festival director Thierry Frémaux. “The Films of the Official Selection are currently playing to cinemagoers in France, in Europe and throughout the world. It’s a great sign to see them making a stopover in Cannes, before we turn our attention to the 2021 season”.
Organized by the local city council, this mini-festival event will open with “Un triomphe” (The Big Hit!) by Emmanuel Courcol, with star Kad Merad in attendance along with other cast and crew. It will conclude with Bruno Podalydes “Les Deux Alfred” (The French Tech), with the director attending the screening alongside lead actor Sandrine Kiberlain.
Additional screenings of “Asa Ga kuru” (True Mothers) by Japanese director and Cannes regular Naomi Kawase, as well as “Beginning,” the debut by Georgian director Dea Kulumbegashvili, which won the Concha de oro for best film at the 68th San Sebastián International Film Festival.
Pierre Lescure, president of the Festival de Cannes, added “We are delighted to see the festival hosted by the Cannes City Hall in October as we were sad to not have enjoyed its company in May. Thanks to this collaboration, films from the Official Selection will be shown on the Croisette. This is our way to be in Cannes, alongside its population and all the professionals with whom we work hand in hand every year”
David Linsard, mayor of Cannes, echoed the sentiment: “We wanted the presence of the Festival de Cannes in 2020 to symbolize our fight on behalf of the events sector, which provides a living for hundreds of families, as well as the cultural impact for our city. It was imperative therefore that the Festival show up in Cannes for this extraordinary event, which respects all the usual rules: quality screenings in front of a regular audience, in evening dress, on the famous red carpet”.
Cannes has also confirmed this week the dates of next year’s festival as May 11-22, 2020.
