Cannes director Thierry Fremaux is probably best known as the vocal leader of one of the biggest film events each year. However, he’s doing the publicity rounds nowadays to hype up his new book, “Judoka,” about his time learning Judo. That said, even when he’s talking about martial arts, the French film event is bound to come up, as it does in an interview with French publication, Liberation. And though the festival has already announced a delay, it looks like another delay could be happening too, depending on the mask situation in France.
In the profile on Fremaux, the Cannes organizer explained that he wouldn’t be opposed to moving the spring festival out of its current summer position and into the fall. Obviously, that is a move that would be incredibly bold, creating a logjam of major film events over the end of 2021. Why would Fremaux consider delaying the event even further? Well, the Cannes boss isn’t a fan of experiencing a “middle ground” version of the festival.
He explained how he would want Cannes 2021 to be without masks or other PPE. And if it’s the case where France requires that people were masks at large public events, then he would rather just postpone until the fall to avoid that situation, saying, “The middle ground is the worst.”
READ MORE: The 2021 Cannes Film Festival Officially Moves To July
Of course, Fremaux stopped short of offering his opinions on whether or not public venues should be closed or open at this time in France. Obviously, we all would hope for COVID to be behind us and venues be open for festivals and events, but that’s not the case right now, and Fremaux is well aware. However, he laments the fact that everything has to be done on videoconferencing equipment and longs for the days of in-person interaction. Again, as we all do.
As mentioned, if Cannes were to move to the fall, it would immediately have to contend with the likes of Venice, TIFF, NYFF, AFI, Locarno, Telluride, and many, many more. Needless to say, it would make for a very busy fall for filmmakers and film industry professionals.
As of now, the 2021 Cannes Film Festival is scheduled to begin on July 6.