Cannes won’t decide whether to cancel the Festival for another month

The Cannes Film Festival has denied French media reports on Saturday (March 14) saying the event will not take place as planned in May due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Film festivals the world round are shuttering their doors amid the coronavirus outbreak, from SXSW to the San Francisco International Film Festival, Tribeca, Hot Docs, and many more. The one still standing is the biggest of all: the 2020 edition of the Cannes Film Festival, set to take place on the French riviera May 12 through 23. However, Cannes isn’t going to decide whether or not it will cancel its 73rd edition until April 15, the day before the competition lineup is set to be revealed.

On April 15, the decision will be made among festival staff, in cooperation with the city and state services. Despite the fact the festival is yet to be called off, an official associated with Cannes said that “it will be difficult, if not impossible to select films from China, Iran etc knowing that actors can’t move around”.

Speaking after the French government’s ban on gatherings of more than 100 people on Friday (13 April), a festival spokesperson said: “The latest restriction comes from a plan (by the government) that we hope will start to bear results in April, and by then we will know if the events scheduled for May, at Cannes and elsewhere, will be maintained.”