Netflix’s chief content officer said in an interview published Wednesday the streaming giant would not attend this year’s Cannes Film Festival because of a change in French regulations.
Speaking to the industry magazine Variety, Ted Sarandos said the festival -- whose selection will be made public Thursday -- had instituted a new rule prohibiting any film without a theatrical distribution in France from competing for main prizes.
“We want our films to be on fair ground with every other filmmaker,” Sarandos said. “There’s a risk in us going in this way and having our films and filmmakers treated disrespectfully at the festival.”
“They’ve set the tone. I don’t think it would be good for us to be there.”
Netflix showed two films at the prestigious film festival last year -- but triggered scandal over its refusal to show Okja in French cinemas before distributing it for streaming to its subscribers.
{{/usCountry}}Netflix showed two films at the prestigious film festival last year -- but triggered scandal over its refusal to show Okja in French cinemas before distributing it for streaming to its subscribers.
{{/usCountry}}The streaming giant also showed the film The Meyerowitz Stories by Noah Baumbach at the festival.
French law stipulates movies cannot be available for home streaming until three years after a cinematic premiere.
Read: Cannes Film Festival plans radical changes for its 71st edition
The timeline is considered largely obsolete due to a spike in piracy and streaming platforms in the United States like Netflix and Amazon.
Netflix has voiced willingness to taking films to French theaters -- but refuses to wait three years to make it available on its platform.
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