Yahoo Finance Cannes Marché Moves Pre-Festival Screenings From May to June
Cannes has moved its virtual screenings from May to June 21-25 following a survey of buyers and sellers. The change of dates will also allow the virtual event, dedicated to screenings of completed films that are not aimed at festivals, to run alongside the online pre-sales market that agencies are putting together, mainly for English-language packages.
On Wednesday, Cannes Marché organizers said “a vast majority” of industry executives responded to a survey voicing their preference for the pre-festival screenings to run in June, rather than May.
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“Following the request from sales agents to have an event between the EFM and the Marché du Film in Cannes in July, the Marché du Film announced a few weeks ago the Pre-Cannes Screenings in May,” said organizers in a statement.
“More recently, some sales companies voiced their preference to hold the event later in June. We therefore decided to launch a wide survey to all buyers and sellers. More than 700 answered: a vast majority confirmed their participation in the Pre-Cannes Screenings and 66% voted in this new context for moving to 21 June.
“Listening to and answering the needs of the industry are key values of the Marché du Film team. Therefore, we have decided to run the online Pre-Cannes Screenings from 21-25 June, two weeks before the Marché du Film in Cannes (6-15 July).”
The format of the screenings event is unchanged, said Jerome Paillard, the head of the Cannes Marché du Film. It will consist of four days of online screenings that will be held on a platform offering virtual booths for sales companies and screening rooms for streaming. Only buyers who are already registered with the Marché du Film (either with an online or an on-site accreditation) will be able to access the pre-screenings at no extra cost.
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