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So many changes have come to the film and entertainment industry that it’s hard to know how things will change. Going to the movies is one of my favorite things to do and I’m really hoping that movie theaters still exist after this. I also hope that red carpet premieres, events and film festivals still happen too as they’re an important part of my job. (Not that I go to them, although once this is over that may change.) If we get a vaccine, at-home tests and antibody tests somewhat quickly, we could go back to normal with some needed changes. In the mean time we have so many streaming and on-demand options for entertainment. The film festivals are adapting, because of course they can’t premiere films in theaters now. After the cancellation of major festivals, including Cannes, they’ve just announced that 20 film festivals, including Cannes, Sundance, Toronto and Berlin, will have a ten day streaming even open to the public and on YouTube! It will be called We are One and is airing on May 29th.
More than 20 film festivals around the world have joined together to stream movies for free on YouTube after the coronavirus pandemic closed cinemas and forced the cancellation of annual showcases in Cannes and New York.
The 10-day We Are One: A Global Film Festival will feature content curated by the Berlin, Cannes, Sundance, Toronto, Tribeca and Venice film festivals, among others, starting on 29 May, the organisers Tribeca Enterprises and YouTube said in a statement on Monday.
The festival will showcase films, documentaries, music, comedy and conversations. No details of the programming were announced and it is unlikely that major new movies that generally launch at film festivals would be included.
The cancellation of the May Cannes film festival in France and uncertainty around festivals in Venice and Toronto in September has robbed film-makers and movie studios of crucial windows to promote their new releases to the media and the public.
The organisers of the Cannes film festival said on Monday they were proud to join in the YouTube event “to spotlight truly extraordinary films and talent, allowing audiences to experience both the nuances of storytelling from around the world and the artistic personalities of each festival”.
As they mention, of course they’re not showing the big films that they want to eventually sell to VOD or theaters, but this is still exciting. Over the weekend I watched a live streaming documentary, it was a film I saw in college and never forgot called The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter. I swear I thought of the movie, googled it to see if it was on YouTube, and found that it was still under copyright but would be streamed as part of the Detroit Free Press Documentary film festival the very next day. It was so special to watch it live on YouTube and they even had a Q&A with the filmmaker afterwards! I loved that this film I saw 30 years ago still held up.
Can you imagine being able to watch Parasite live for the first time with everyone around the world? I know those types of films aren’t going to be screened but it still gives me goosebumps. I’m going to put this on my calendar now, I’m excited for it . I do worry, though, that this will affect the film industry negatively, especially if they’re aiming for numbers and are trying to please the public instead of more discerning film critics. After all, Tiger King is now the biggest documentary of all time.
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Looking forward to it. Hopefully some of the new films that were going to premiere at the festivals will get screened. I tend to gravitate towards the obscure ones more so than the hyped ones at festivals, because I know the hyped ones end up getting a general release at some stage anyway.
This sounds fun. I realize it is a difficult time in so many ways, but I’ve enjoyed seeing how different people and industries are adapting. I hope one positive that comes out of this time is a lot of innovation, although I agree I don’t want to lose movie theaters in the process.
That tiger (abuse) thing is only a thing because NO ONE usually watches documentaries.
I think that’s too bad, because they are usually far more interesting than the “boy meets girl” dreck or “action man kicks ass” yawnfest movies that usually get made.
I work for a performing arts company and it’s rough. Even if things open up, the average patron (particularly subscriber) age means most wont be back until there’s a vaccine, if ever. And most nonprofit performing arts companies don’t have the resources to pivot as quickly as film festivals. Nor the leadership to realize how profound a game changer this is (yet).
I think that TIFF is going to have to be realistic about the festival this year. Most people won’t want to risk the travel or being in a large crowded theatre. September is still too soon for the usual festival set up. They will be pushing their membership renewals in May and if they want people to sign up they should have a virtual festival where you purchase access to see the film on you tube or a platform like that.
The average age for a festival goer in Toronto is on the older side and many of them won’t risk attending movies in person. No movie is worth risking death.
I know venice and Sundance are generally restricted to the public anyway, but Toronto has claimed to be a film festival for the people so they will need to be the groundbreaking ones here.
I have attended TIFF for over 15 years and I have already decided that I won’t be attending in person. I am not even sure if I want to renew a membership this year because if there are no virtual options, it won’t be worth it.
I work in the events industry and so many organizations are tentatively moving forward with fall meetings with hundreds or thousands of attendees. I think it’s such a waste of time and resources when we have a pretty good idea of how bad an idea that is at this point. People will (rightly) be afraid to attend or won’t be able to afford it because they lost their job/had pay cut. Smarter to stick with virtual options this year and hope for the best in 2021.
I take a vacation every October that I’ve already written off for 2020. It makes me really sad because it’s a tradition I have with some family and I look forward to it all year, but I just don’t think travel and large gatherings seem safe for the rest of the year.