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T was barely halfway through the first day of #Cannes2017 when the head of this year’s jury tasked with deciding which film would win the festival’s most coveted prize, the Palme d’Or (due to be awarded tonight), made a bold statement — one that would hang over the 12-day event and dominate many a conversation on the Croisette.
Revered Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar was addressing the contentious move by festival organisers to not allow any films that don’t release theatrically, on the big screen, into the competition lineup from next year.
This year, two films releasing solely on Netflix, Okja by South Korean director Bong Joon-ho, starring Tilda Swinton, and The Meyerowitz Stories, with Dustin Hoffman and Adam Sandler, were allowed to compete — which irked many cinephiles and traditional filmmakers.
For some, the bypassing of a theatrical release for a film is a representation of US cultural imperialism. For others, it’s just a sign of the times.
“For me, it would be a paradox if the winner of the Palme d’Or in Cannes, or any other award, couldn’t be seen in cinemas,” said Almodóvar.
“Digital platforms are a new way of offering paid content, which in principle can be good and enriching,” he said, but “this new way shouldn’t try to suppress the already existing ones, like going to the movies.”
Almost immediately, Almodóvar’s fellow juror Will Smith weighed in, saying he did not believe Netflix to be anything but beneficial — not surprising, given that Smith’s latest movie, the sci-fi fantasy Bright, will release on the platform this year.
“I have a 16-year-old and an 18year-old and a 24-year-old at home. They go to the movies twice a week, and they watch Netflix. There’s very little cross between going to the cinema and watching what they watch on Netflix,” he said.
He said a platform such as Netflix gave his children access to films and filmmakers they might CANNES FILM FESTIVAL AND THE FUTURE OF LE CINEMA
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