UPDATE:After previously announcing that, in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, its 2020 edition could not begin on May 12 as originally planned, the Cannes Film FestivalannouncedTuesday it is eyeing several options for a new launch windowparticularly late June or early July.
EARLIER:The Cannes Film Festivalone of the most prestigious and influential cinema events in the worldannounced Thursday that it will not hold the annual festival in May because of the spreading coronavirus pandemic.
“Due to the health crisis and the development of the French and international situation, the Festival de Cannes will no longer be able to take place on the dates planned, from May 12 to 23” reads a festival statement tweeted from the group’s official account, seemingly leaving the door open for rescheduled dates in the future.
In a press release, the festival team says future dates are being considered at the end of June or the beginning of July.
“As soon as the development of the French and international health situation will allow us to assess the real possibility, we will make our decision known, in accordance with our ongoing consultation with the French Government and Cannes' City Hall as well as with the Festival’s Board Members, Film industry professionals and all the partners of the event,” the statement reads.
Cannes' announcement comes after the coronavirus outbreakwhich haskilled nearly 6,400,000 people worldwideresulted in postponements and cancellations of several projects and events across the entertainment industry.
Festival president Pierre Lescure recently told France’sLe Figaronewspaper(per a translation byThe Hollywood Reporter) that the Cannes crew remained “reasonably optimistic in the hope that the peak of the epidemic will be reached at the end of March and that we will breathe a little better in April,” though he stressed his team was “not oblivious” to the severity and would cancel if the situation got worse.
In the wake of the virus' spread, theSXSW Film Festival canceled its 2020 event,Coachella has been postponedto October,Daniel Craig’sNo Time to Diemoved its release date from April to November,Madonna’sMadame Xtourcut its final shows in Paris as cases in France rise, Korean boy bandBTS has nixed four showsfrom its ongoing tour, theRuPaul’s DragCon Los Angeles conventionhas been delayed to 2021, andParamount has altered its production planfor the filming of Tom Cruise’s seventhMission: Impossiblefilm, among other developments tied to the outbreak.
Usually held at the tail end of spring each year, Cannes is arguably the most esteemed film festival on the global scene, often launching hotly anticipated new entries from world-renowned filmmakers into its Palme d’Or competition.
Over the last two years, the Cannes juryled by Cate Blanchett in 2018 and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu in 2019has overseen the main competition lineup including Oscar-bound titles like Spike Lee’sBlacKkKlansman,Quentin Tarantino’sOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood, Pedro Almodovar’sPain and Glory, and Bong Joon Ho’seventual Best Picture winnerParasite, whichwon the Palme d’Orlast year.
