Online streaming giant Netflix has reportedly threatened to pull out of the Cannes Film Festival after festival director Thierry Fremaux said the festival won’t screen Netflix movies from this year.
The situation is said to be fluid, and a final decision won’t be made until Cannes announces its official line-up on April 12, reports hollywoodreporter.com.
If Netflix carries through on the threat to pull out its movies, the move could impact a number of high-profile filmmakers. It’s lineup includes new films by Alfonso Cuaron, Paul Greengrass and Jeremy Saulnier.
Such a move would be seen as retaliation for a new rule, which was first announced after last year’s fest. The officials have banned films from competition that do not have a French theatrical release.
Since Netflix titles don’t play in French theatres and instead releases films directly on the digital service, that rule has barred them from the competition line-up. The controversy began in 2017 after the premiere of Bong Joon-ho’s Okja and Noah Baumbach’s The Meyerowitz Stories.
{{/usCountry}}Since Netflix titles don’t play in French theatres and instead releases films directly on the digital service, that rule has barred them from the competition line-up. The controversy began in 2017 after the premiere of Bong Joon-ho’s Okja and Noah Baumbach’s The Meyerowitz Stories.
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