Cannes Film Festival bans Netflix movies from competing, allows film screening only

Image: Cannes Film Festival official website

Netflix original productions have been blocked from competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

Film festival head Thierry Fremaux stated that Netflix and other content streaming companies could not win awards for their original productions, but they could still show them at the the festival, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The 2017 festival saw the entry of Netflix films “Okja” by Boon Joon-ho and “The Meyerowitz Stories” by Noah Baumbach as an experimental risk. It was a risk Fremaux had been willing to take to keep the festival from stagnating. The decision was met with controversy, particularly from critics who appealed that entries must be made precisely for the big screen, instead of for online streaming on TV.

For 2018, rules for the competition require film entries to have a theatrical release in French cinemas.

Last year, Netflix tried to get permits to screen “Okja” and “The Meyerowitz Stories” for a limited time in French theaters. However, strict French laws and Netflix’s own policy prevented an agreement from being made.

Fremaux stated in the report that players like Netlix and Amazon still need to be accounted for. The companies provide directors the budget to create productions which are a hybrid of TV and film. But for now, Fremaux believes “Cinema [still] triumphs everywhere even in this golden age of series.”

The Cannes Film Festival will be held between May 8 to 19. Alfred Bayle/JB

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