CANNES GOES VIRTUAL

Just because this year’s Cannes Film Festival was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, it didn’t mean no deals were done.

Instead the marketplace aspect of the iconic festival moved online with thousands of film industry participants from around the world joining the virtual event.

Buyers, sales companies, agencies and financiers attended as new projects were presented in a marketplace which set the path forward for festival deals in the new normal.

Films were screened online via private passcodes sent to invitation only delegates.

“As nobody can leave their house, a virtual market is the next best thing. If it can help in some way to stimulate business that’s a great thing,” said attendee Dylan Leiner of Sony Pictures Classics.

—Sandro Monetti